Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
MANSFIELD TIGERS
2018 RECORD 8-4, 4-3 3A-1 Conference COACH Tim Cothran
RETURNING STARTERS 7 offense, 8 defense
KEY PLAYERS QB Ethan Stovall (Sr., 6-2, 205), WR Layton Howard (Sr., 175), WR Jaicy Griffin (Sr., 5-10, 145), WR Tyler Holmes (Sr., 6-2, 175), LB Randall Claude (Jr., 5-11, 180), OT/NG Jacob Brown (Sr., 6-3, 250), FB/TE Isaac Cothran (Sr., 6-2, 215).
THE SKINNY Tim Cothran was promoted to head coach at Mansfield after Craig Bentley left for Mena, his alma mater. … Cothran has spent six years at Mansfield, including the last three as offensive coordinator. … The Tigers will take the field with 29 players for varsity football, which is about average at Mansfield. …Senior Ethan Stovall is a returning all-state quarterback who passed for 2,309 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. …. Stovall is being evaluated by a handful of colleges, including Middle Tennessee State and Missouri State. … Mansfield has four senior receivers, including three who started last year. … Tyler Holmes had 707 yards receiving on 39 catches (18.1 yards per catch) to lead the Tigers. … Isaac Cothran, the coach’s son, will shift from center to fullback for the Tigers, who finished 8-4 and reached the second round of the playoffs last season. … Mansfield will open the season against Hackett Aug. 29 during Zero Week and take a week off before hosting West Fork in its conference opener on Sept. 27.
COACH SPEAK “We’ve got a lot of experienced players coming back, guys who’ve been starting since they were sophomores. “We’re going to run pretty much the same offense, same defense. So, if we stay healthy, we should be very competitive.”