MANSFIELD — For the second time in three weeks, Marshfield snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
After coming up with a crucial defensive stop with three minutes to play, Marshfield went on an 82-yard drive that was capped off by a game-winning two-yard touchdown run by Davin True to skirt past Mansfield, 13-10, on Friday night at Mansfield High School.
The Hornets (2-2) got down to the 30-yard line but time expired to seal the victory for Marshfield. Just two weeks ago the Rams (3-1) trailed Methuen 20-0 only to rally in the second half and pull off a 31-23 victory.
“Our kids have tremendous grit,” Marshfield coach Chris Arouca said. “They played hard for the whole 48 minutes. They believe in themselves and they never feel like they are out of a game.”
For most of the second half it seemed as though Mansfield’s Matt Touringey would go down as the game’s most valuable player. Late in the third quarter, Touringey escaped around a block, got into the backfield and jumped a screen pass before taking it the distance for a 60-yard pick six. Touringey’s interception for a touchdown put Mansfield up 10-6 after three.
After getting a defensive stop, Mansfield received the ball on its own five-yard line and seemed poised to run out the clock as it went on a 7:43 drive that brought itself inside the red zone.
The Rams defense, however, came through with a key stop on fourth and two turning back over possession with 3:09 to play. The Rams got down to the 36-yard line and faced a fourth down and 10, only for senior quarterback Tor Maas to connect with Jake Brilliant for an 18-yard reception to keep the Rams hopes alive. Two plays later, True rushed home from two yards out to put Marshfield in front.
“Our defense was unbelievable. They got down to our 18-yard line and if they score there the game is over,” Arouca said. “It was easy to quit. Time of possession was close to 3-to-1 in favor of them. But our guys battled on that side of the ball.”
Mansfield took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 32-yard field goal from James Warren. Marshfield immediately responded as Maas connected with Brilliant for 41 yards before finding Luke Richardson for a 13-yard score to put Mansfield up 6-3 at the half.
Mansfield had a chance with less than a minute to play inside the 10-yard line, but a sack by Jake Ekstrom on fourth down kept the Hornets out of the end zone.
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