No. 4 Mansfield Senior Tygers (10-2, 8-0) vs. No. 5 Rocky River (10-1, 5-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at Arlin Field, 933 W 4th Street, Mansfield, OH
Enrollments: Mansfield Senior (755), Rocky River (872)
Coaches: Mansfield Senior- Chioke Bradley, Rocky River- Josh Wells
Streaks: Mansfield Senior- 9 wins, Rocky River- 8 wins
At Stake: Mansfield Senior and Rocky River are two of the hottest teams going and now go head-to-head in the Division III, Region 10 football tournament.
What to Watch: The Tygers have won nine straight games and are looking to put that streak into double digits, but it won’t be easy with Rocky River coming to town.
The Tygers are coming off a 30-13 win over their OCC rival Lexington in the first round, where Duke Reese threw for a touchdown and also took it in on the ground. Amarr Davis caught the touchdown, giving him 20 in his career to tie a school record. Look for Davis to be a main target again for Reese, and for the senior wideout to try to take sole possession of the school touchdown record.
The running game had 120 yards last week and was led by Jamier Petty’s 64 yards. He and fellow senior running back Zyion Brown are a tough duo to stop when they get going, and last week both of them found the end zone.
Mo Bradley III had 15 tackles and a pair of sacks, and leads the defense. Zavier Taylor and Ja’Ontay Bryant are both players to watch covering the pass, as they can get in pass lanes to pick it off. O’Bryant has 11 career interceptions.
On the season Mansfield Senior has outscored opponents 333-174.
Rocky River has been dominant all season, outscoring opponents 435-215. In the first round of the playoffs they won in a low scoring affair, however, with a 14-7 victory over Clyde. They will need to bring their “A” game to have a chance to knock off this Tyger squad.
Senior quarterback Julian Patti is a force under center. He has been throwing at a completion rate of 65.9% while throwing for 3,126 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven picks. He also has three rushing touchdowns.Last week he was 14-for-25 for 257 yard and a touchdown.
His number one target has been Ryan Ricketti, with 74 catches for 1,085 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught six passes for 136 yards and a touchdown against Clyde.
Fellow senior running back Nick Disalvo is tough to stop on the ground, as he has 1,390 yards and 17 touchdowns with 9.5 yards per carry. He has hit the 100-yard mark in eight of his 11 games this year, including last week where he had 16 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown. Disalvo has also caught 40 passes for 571 yards and seven touchdowns.
The team has 200 catches and four players with 20 catches or more (Ricketti, Disalvo, Oran Grieve (25), Andrew Lang (20).
