For the second week in a row, Angelo Grose sent Mansfield Senior to the next round of the playoffs with a game-winning touchdown in overtime, propelling the Tygers to the Division III State Championship with a 27-21 victory over Aurora (13-1) in the Final Four at Nordonia High School.

 

Senior High (13-1) took an early first quarter lead on an 11-yard run to paydirt by Grose that was quickly answered by a 66-yard strike from Greenmen QB Alex Moore to John Papesh that evened the score at 7-7. The Tygers later reclaimed the lead with 7:24 to play in the second quarter with QB Cam Todd pushing his way in from a yard away, putting Mansfield on top 14-7.

 

Both defenses would control the action for the next quarter and a half, with the Tygers 7-point cushion remaining intact until early in the fourth when Papesh grabbed his second TD of the night from 33 yards out to square things up at 14 apiece. The score would remain deadlocked for the rest of regulation sending the contest into overtime.

 

A 3-yard TD run by Terrance Flickinger in the first OT would give Senior High the lead but Aurora answered with a 10-yard scoring run by Evan McVay to force an extra session. In the second OT Grose would shine bright, intercepting Moore to end the Greenmen scoring threat, then brought in a 5-yard pass in the end zone to end the game and punch the Tygers ticket to the state final.

 

Mansfield Senior will move on to face Trotwood-Madison (11-3) who defeated Bishop Hartley 24-19 in their state semifinal. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Dec 6th.