Tide football gets shutdown by non-league Mansfield in the second half to lose home opener

After taking on Medford in the GBL opener, Everett returns home to face Xaverian next Friday at 7 p.m.

By Joe McConnell

The home opener didn’t go as planned for second-year Everett High School football coach Justin Flores last Friday night at Everett Memorial Stadium against non-league Mansfield out of the powerful Hockomock League. The visiting Hornets were all over the Crimson Tide (0-1) to the tune of 45-14. But keeping the power rankings in mind, the loss should serve as a win when determining the 16 best Division 1 playoff teams late next month.

It was a much closer game throughout most of the first half against aforementioned Mansfield. The home team only trailed by three, 17-14, before the game got out of hand. At that point, the Hornets proceeded to score 28 unanswered points to secure the victory.

“We made some critical mistakes that led directly to points,” said Flores. “Football is a game of momentum, and Mansfield took it all from us at the end of the first half after they recovered a fumble on the kickoff, and immediately scored a touchdown on the next play. They followed it up with another touchdown coming out of halftime.

“We need to be better in certain situations, and we also can’t put the defense in bad spots (via) special teams,” added Flores. “This game, however, at the end of the day should help us in the power rankings.”

Despite the lopsided nature of the game, Flores thought that quarterback Carlos Rodrigues (6/13 in the air for 151 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception) and receiver Yariel Ortiz (3 catches for 133 yards with 2 touchdowns) played well for the Tide. Both touchdowns went for 78 and 53 yards.

Running back Manny Santiago was the team’s leading rusher with 69 yards on 14 carries. Kevin Diaz carried the ball twice for 11 yards. Jacolby Ventullo ran the ball once for three yards. Elijah Lassister caught two passes for six yards.

But overall, Flores said that the team will continue to work on all phases of the game. “There’s nothing to be happy about (as a team in general),” he added.

The Tide didn’t have much time to get ready for the second game of the regular season. It was the Greater Boston League (GBL) opener against host Medford last night (Sept. 12) after press deadline. But Flores saw that to his advantage.

“It’s a good thing that we have a short week,” he said. “We can get back on the field faster in order to move on from (the Mansfield) game. We expect Medford to be a solid team again this year. They are big up front, and are led by a good quarterback.”

The Everett boys won last year’s Medford game, 41-6.

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