by Amarr Davis makes Tyger history as Mansfield defeats Rocky River 55-21
By Nathan Smee
Rocky River, OH- Mansfield Senior defeated Rocky River 55-21. Unfortunate circumstances led to the game being moved to Rocky River Stadium, but both teams gave it their all in the absence of their loyal fans.
The Tygers kicked off to begin the game. After 1 pass, the Tygers swallowed the ball up after a fumble from Nick DiSalvo which set Mansfield up at the Pirates’ 36 yard-line. The Tyger offense made the most of their first possession as Reese completed 3 passes and capped off the drive with a 1-yard rushing score. With the extra point being deflected, Mansfield led 6-0. The Pirates only trailed for 54 seconds as Julian Patti found Ryan Ricketti down the Tyger sideline to give River a 7-6 lead. 19 seconds later, Duke Reese found the endzone again–this time from 72 yards out–to give his Tygers a 13-7 lead.
On the following drive, Patti’s jump ball throw was picked by Amarr Davis. It only took 1 play from the Tygers to find the endzone again. This time, Nate Dismuke takes a Reese pass 39 yards to the house to give Mansfield a 20-7 lead. After 2 first downs, Rocky River got the Tyger defensive line to jump offsides and give them new life. DiSalvo broke free for a 36-yard carry to set the Pirates up in the redzone, but the Tyger’s defense shut down the drive with a stop on 4th down. Mansfield was able to get to their own 46 as the first quarter ended.
To begin the second quarter, Jamier “Tank” Petty takes the ball 42 yards to the house to extend the Tyger lead 27-7. Lady luck would then shine on the Pirates as a pass from Patti was tipped, but Ricketti was in a perfect spot to snatch the ball out of the air and take it 70 yards to the house for his second time tonight to cut the Tyger lead to 27-14. Mansfield replied with a 6-yard rushing score from Zyion Brown to restore a 20-point Tyger advantage. Mansfield was able to hold off Rocky River, whose drive stalled near midfield, forcing a punt. Amarr Davis made Mansfield history, scoring his 21st career receiving touchdown from 26 yards out which also saw Duke Reese eclipse 4000 passing yards on the season. This gave Mansfield a 41-14 lead going into the half. The 41 points posted by the Tygers was the most in first half since 2015 against Clear Fork.
Mansfield got the ball to start the second half after recovering the Rocky River onside kick. Duke Reese finds Jermain Bradley for a 1-yard touchdown to extend the Tyger lead to 48-14. On the ensuing Pirate drive, Dismuke tips a Patti pass to force River to punt. Mansfield drove down the field with big runs coming from Brown and Reese, leading to Ryan Au’s first career Mansfield touchdown from 3 yards out to begin the 4th quarter. This extended the Tyger lead to 55-14. A 70-yard rushing touchdown from DiSalvo followed which made the score 55-21. The Tygers ran out the rest of the clock to seal their 55-21 victory and a return to the Sweet 16.
The Pirates end their 2023 season with a record of 10-2 with their other loss coming against Perkins in week 3. Mansfield Senior takes on Toledo Central Catholic in the Division 3 Region 10 semi-finals next Friday at 7PM with the site to be announced by the OHSAA.
Mansfield Key Players
#5 Zyion Brown: 124 Rushing Yards, 1 Touchdown
#8 Amarr Davis: 67 Receiving Yards, 1 Touchdown (school record), 1 Interception
#9 Duke Reese: 12/13, 157 yards. 3 Touchdowns, 156.6 Passer Rating, 121 Rushing Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Rocky River Key Players
#7 Julian Patti: 13/26, 230 Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 1 Interception, 90.2 Passer Rating
#13 Ryan Ricketti: 181 Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 5 Rushing Yards
#25 Nick DiSalvo: 117 Rushing Yards, 1 Touchdown, 28 Receiving Yards
Player of the Game: Duke Reese
Honorable Mention: Amarr “the record breaker” Davis
