Turn the page: Tygers prepared and ready to defend OCC title despite 0-3 start

MANSFIELD — It was one of the lowest points in Mansfield Senior Tyger football history.

The Tygers had just lost to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph 60-0 on Friday night. It was the worst loss in Arlin Field history and the worst home loss since falling to Fostoria 76-0 in 1917. Arlin Field was built in 1947. They ended up with -16 yards of total offense and allowed 537. They had just two first down on offense and allowed Ohio State-bound Lamar "Bo" Jackson to run for 197 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns. The Vikings ran for 487 yards total.

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And yet, veteran head coach Chioke Bradley had a positive outlook.

The Tygers are 0-3 for the first time in 20 years, when they went 0-4 to start the 2004 season and had just completed one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the state. The positive outlook was that the Tygers couldn't be more prepared for a run at a second-consecutive Ohio Cardinal Conference championship because of the tough tests they have been through over the first three weeks of the season.

"We play a tough schedule, and we played another very good football team tonight," Bradley said. "The logic behind these first three games is it gives us a chance to prepare for conference play. That time is finally here, and we will get ready for that in the morning."

The Tygers lost in Week 1, 21-14, to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary before falling to 2022 Division III state champion Canfield on the road in Week 2, 20-14 in overtime, and even had a potential game-winning field goal blocked in regulation. Battle-tested and broken-hearted is the only way to see the Tygers at this point in the season, but it's time to turn the page with a road game at West Holmes next week.

"It is the second part of the season," Bradley said. "The first part, we just went through it. Now, we turn the page to the second part of the season. We better be ready."

The Tygers went into the meeting with VASJ banged up without first team All-Ohio linebacker MJ Bradley. They also were without Week 1 starting quarterback Braylon Patterson to start the game and eventually lost starting wide receiver Isaiah Darson and starting QB Jordan Ferguson to injuries throughout the night. The Tygers look like a MASH unit and will try to use the week of preparation for West Holmes to get healthy.

"If we can get everyone healthy and get them to do what we ask them to do, we will be just fine," Bradley said. "When we get into conference play, things will slow down."

After the loss, Bradley and the coaching staff laid into the Tygers, breaking them down so that they can build them right back up and refocus on what could end up being an epic run at a league title.

"We will love them up in the morning," Bradley said. "We will let them sleep on it tonight, and then we will wrap our arms around them tomorrow. We coach our kids hard, and that has been the recipe to success since I started here. We have some tough moments, but we find a way to uplift our kids because we love them, and we always will."

Friday night was also the end of the third week of the season, meaning the inexperience of many of the key contributors is no longer a factor moving forward. Against a team like VASJ with several Division I college prospects, the inexperience showed, but next week, they are expected to play like veterans.

"We have one of the most inexperience football teams that I have ever coached," Bradley said. "We have a lot of guys who haven't played meaningful football. Even some of the guys who we count on and depend on to win games, they don't have experience. So, we have to create opportunities to cut our teeth early in the year so we can have teachable moments to look at on Saturdays."

So, despite a historic loss, an 0-3 start for the first time in 20 years and having injuries to several key positions, the Tygers still have everything for which to play. A league championship and a playoff berth are still all likely scenarios.

They just have to turn the page.

jfurr@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Turn the page: Tygers prepared and ready to defend OCC title despite 0-3 start