Booneville emerges from 6-0 showdown

BOONEVILLE 55, MANSFIELD 6

BOONEVILLE — Mansfield scored first in its showdown against No. 1 Booneville, but it would be the latter who walked away with a victory after the Bearcats scored five touchdowns in the second quarter to fuel their 55-6 victory Friday night.

Booneville’s Carson Ray scored four touchdowns on the ground, and Evan Schlinker threw for two more to lead the Bearcats’ offense.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter, as there was only one trip to the red zone. Booneville (7-0, 4-0 1-3A Conference) then strung together five consecutive possessions that ended in a touchdown after the team took advantage of turnovers from Mansfield (6-1, 3-1) and played to its strengths on offense in the run game.

“What they were doing defensively was giving us some trouble early,” Booneville Coach Scott Hyatt said. “They did a good job of defending that, so we had to come back and run some other stuff.”

Booneville’s defense line terrorized the Mansfield backfield. The Bearcats’ trio of Noah Reyes, Cort Mizell and Marcus Nichols combined for four sacks in the first half, with Mizell recording back-to-back sacks on the same possession. Ian Shuttles and Gabe Fennell each grabbed an interception in the secondary.

“The defensive line has played well all year, but I think they stepped it up tonight,” Hyatt said. “They’re big, physical guys, and they love playing football. They get after it.”

Mansfield had no answer for Ray, who was Booneville’s go-to option on short-yardage and red-zone situations after he scored two of his touchdowns from inside 5 yards.

“He’s a great player,” Mansfield Coach Craig Bentley said. “The best thing about him is his feet never stop churning. He runs with his knees high and feet fast. We knew if we didn’t swarm and gang tackle to the ball, we were going to be in trouble tonight, and that’s what happened.”

Ray showcased his strength by running over Tigers’ defenders or breaking tackles, including four on his touchdown run from 25 yards out.

“He comes from a football family. He comes to work every day. He does everything you ask him to do,” Hyatt said. “He’s fun to coach.”

Mansfield’s Layton Howard shined on the team’s lone scoring possession. The junior busted a 41-yard run and caught a 19-yard pass before finishing off the drive with his second reception from 2 yards out for the touchdown.