Roos fall at Mansfield

Despite putting up 496 yards of offense, the Weatherford Kangaroos saw their playoff chances slip away in a 49-34 loss to Mansfield High Friday night at Vernon Newsom Stadium.

Weatherford moved the ball, but the Roo defense couldn’t stop the Tigers as Mansfield scored on all six offensive drives before running out the clock on their final possession. Neither team punted the entire game.

If the Roos (2-8, 2-4 in District 3-6A) would have beaten the Tigers by four points or more, Weatherford would have finished in a three-way tie with Mansfield High and Mansfield Legacy, advancing to the playoffs because of point differential. The Tigers (8-2, 4-2) would have been eliminated. Instead, the Roos’ season is over and Mansfield will move on to the bi-district round against Euless Trinity Nov 15 at Pennington Field. 

Two Weatherford seniors capped off their high school careers with fantastic showings Friday night. Running back Xavier Craven crossed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with a 127-yard, two touchdown performance. Electric wide receiver Jaime Gray caught nine passes for 153 yards. 

Craven scored the first points of the night on a 26-yard touchdown run. Mansfield’s Teddy Clark, the top rusher in District 3-6A, countered with a 30-yard score of his own to tie the game.

On the next drive, Mansfield defender Zavyn Jenkins picked off a pass and ran it back 60 yards for a touchdown.

The Kangaroo offense marched down the field on their next possession, capping off a 13-play, 66-yard drive with a two-yard Craven score. Another Clark touchdown made it 28-14 at the half.

Weatherford scored on all three of its second half possessions, the first of which was highlighted by a spectacular Jaime Gray catch off a deflection on the sideline that kept the drive alive. Unfortunately for the Roos, Mansfield also scored three more times and the Tigers stayed out of Weatherford’s reach.

Quarterback Luke Gray was efficient again, connecting on 22 of 28 attempts for 246 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The sophomore looks to be a bright spot on a very young Weatherford roster.