by: Daniel Simmons
Photos Courtesy Tiger Snaps Photography
In their final away game of the regular season, the Winnfield Tigers traveled to DeSoto Parish to take on the Mansfield Wolverines. The game was another all-around rough outing for the Tigers, as they were shut out by the Wolverines 38-0.
The Wolverines started out with the ball and got a first down, but eventually had to punt. The Tigers then went 3 and out and punted themselves. The teams traded 3 and outs over the next two possessions, and things started to go wrong for the Tigers when they lined up for their second punt of the night. Ryan Davis stood in his own end zone ready to receive the snap, but the snap went over his head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety. This gave the Wolverines an early 2-0 lead.
The opponents followed up the safety with a touchdown run on their next offensive possession, making the score 8-0. The rest of the game was characterized by Mansfield controlling the line of scrimmage and doing damage on the ground, as well as hitting on a few downfield passing plays. One in particular that stood out was a deep ball thrown to the corner of the end zone with 1 second left in the first half. The Mansfield receiver caught the ball as the horn sounded and the clock hit zero, drawing a big reaction from the home crowd and giving the Wolverines a 31-0 halftime lead.
The Tiger offense had its worst performance of the season, with almost no highlight plays standing out. The second half was mostly uneventful, as Mansfield added one more touchdown to arrive at the final score of 38-0.
There is one more game left for Winnfield this season. This Friday night at Stokes-Walker Stadium is the latest chapter in one of the oldest rivalries in Louisiana high school football, a battle of Tigers as Winnfield takes on Jonesboro-Hodge. Both teams have overall losing records and are 1-3 in district play, but there is still a lot to play for in this game.
Winnfield still has an outside shot at the playoffs, and a win could potentially help get them one of the final playoff spots. Jonesboro-Hodge looks to be locked into a playoff spot in the Division IV Non-Select bracket, but a win would likely give them a home game in the first round instead of an away game. Outside of playoff positioning, it’s also Senior Night for Winnfield, a chance for the seniors to have their last game at Stokes-Walker Stadium be a good one. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
