When Mansfield’s Superman-like senior, Andrew Burton, stepped out of his locker booth ready for action at the 3A state football finals, he wasn’t wearing a crooked letter on his chest. His simple red and white game jersey was adorned with that familiar number “0” that small kids, grown men, and pretty girls have grown to love.
Mansfield’s all-time record-breaking rusher broke out his superhero best one last time inside War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday afternoon. This larger than life high school hero who could certainly rival fast bullets, powerful trains, and leaps over tall stadium walls, covered more ground than a delivery truck two days before Christmas. With 30 carries for 321 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns in a 40-30 win against Fordyce, Burton was the for the 3A state football championship game’s Most Valuable Player.
Before the season, Mansfield head coach Whit Overton predicted his returning All-State running back would be special. He was right. Individually and teamwise, the Tiger toughman produced records that could overflow a fireplace stocking hung by the best kid on Santa’s nice list.
“He’s a stud,” Overton proclaimed before the Tigers played their first game of what would become a magical and perfect 14-0 state championship season. “Everything we want to see out of our kids both on and off the field, Andrew embodies. Our offense can really take off and be dynamic with Andrew. He’s going to be electric this year.”
Overton’s preseason prediction was right on the money. On a cold and cloudy afternoon in Little Rock, Burton generated enough electricity to heat up the home side of War Memorial Stadium. As the Tigers battled the Redbugs of Fordyce for a chance at Mansfield’s first football state championship, Burton saved best performance for the season finale, adding to his already incredible numbers.
The MHS senior fullback had a game for the ages as Mansfield did claim the state’s top prize. His 321 yards rushing, according to Arkansas Activities Association archives, were only 28 yards away from surpassing Kenneth Dixon’s 348 yards.
Dixon, who played for Strong High School, rushed for 348 yards on 28 carries to become the 2A football MVP in 2011 with a 45-20 win over Carlisle. Dixon would go on to a legendary career at Louisiana Tech University before being drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.
As a side note, 1999 Mansfield alumnus, BJ Greene, was an assistant football coach on that 2011 Carlisle team. “Best high school player I have ever seen in person,” Greene, now Superintendent at Carlisle Schools, would say of Dixon years later.
Greene was watching the broadcast of the Mansfield versus Fordyce football game on his phone as his son was playing a mid-morning basketball jamboree back in Carlisle. “He is a very good player!” offered Greene about Mansfield’s Andrew Burton after hearing comparisons to Dixon on the Arkansas PBS Sports broadcast.
When Burton was asked by the press core after Saturday's game if he could have run any more, Burton gave an answer relevant to his MVP status.
“I could probably run 10 more times,” smiled the Tiger senior. “I’m a little banged up, but I’m not tired.
“Last year, I had a bad ankle injury from the Cedarville game,” Burton continued. “I knew I had to get stronger, more more mobility and speed so I could make it through the season. If you can’t make it through the season, you’re no good. Even if you’re one of the strongest, best players, if you get hurt, you’re no good for the team.
“I knew I couldn’t get hurt this year. That made me work really hard and it paid off.”
Burton’s hard work definitely paid off as he displayed his own unique blend of power and speed through, over and around the Redbugs. Listed as running a 4.6 second 40-yard dash and powercleaning 350 pounds to start the season, he was as advertised.
“The running back everybody said you’ve got to stop,” shared Fordyce head football coach Timothy Rodgers about Mansfield’s MVP running back. “We didn't stop him.”
A prime example of being unstoppable was a Burton sweep out of the I-Formation for the game’s first score. With a defensive battle holding both teams in check through a scoreless first quarter, Burton found two edge blocks by freshman fullback Colton Moore and senior wide receiver Joseph Carter. The execution of the Tiger line coupled with the blocking catalysts around the right end became a 90-yard sprint to the endzone for Burton. The first score of the entire game put Mansfield on the board with 3:31 to play in the second period.
“I didn’t think I’d break any long ones like that,” opened up the excited running back as he easily moved from fullback in Mansfield’s established Flex-Bone offense to tailback in the I-Formation. “I thought I’d get out in the open and they would catch me. They never did. That surprised me.”
Asked if he took a peak at the live action scoreboard as he ran towards the south endzone for the second longest ground gain in Arkansas High School championship play, Burton confessed, with a slight grin, that he did.
“Yeah, I did once,” smiled the holder of at least five Mansfield football records. ”I was thinking I was going to get caught at some point, but just kept running as fast as I could and made it to the endzone before they caught me.”
With the 2025 season now complete, Burton’s numbers lay thick inside the MHS record books. Without digging too deep into the Tiger catalog, here’s a look at the five Burton benchmarks that immediately leap off the pages.
Burton reached 4,267 total rushing yards for his career. He gained 2,576 yards in a single season - this 14 game, 2025 Mansfield championship season. His 320 rushing yards are the most ever by a Tiger player, and as previously mentioned, the second most in any Arkansas championship game from any classification. He also scored 59 total touchdowns in his career, and had 41 total touchdowns in a single season - this his senior campaign.
As he has been throughout the year, Burton was charismatic and completely genuine in recognizing the value of his teammates in respect to any historical markers he may have achieved.
“It’s not about the records,” offered Burton after the game to a throng of television cameras and media microphones. “It’s about the team - and my linemen do everything for me. They block everybody. All I have to do is run.
“The whole team makes it so easy to run. It’s all about the team. I’m glad we got to bring it (state championship) home for the town and the community.”
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