By Paul Vozzella

NEFJ Staff

MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Hornets looked to defend their home turf Friday night versus the Marshfield Rams. Both teams headed into the game with 2-1 records.

The game came down to the wire, as Marshfield made a crucial stop on fourth down in their own red zone.

“That was huge and I give our guys a lot of credit,” said Marshfield head coach Chris Arouca. “It would have been easy to quit a couple of times on that drive in the fourth quarter when they stopped them. We got tough kids, man.”

Following the stop, Rams senior quarterback Tor Maas led an offensive drive all the way down the field and capped it off with a handoff to senior running back Davin True to give Marshfield the 13-10 victory.

Marshfield did not make the game-winning drive easy on themselves, however. Three penalties for a combined 20 yards hindered their momentum.

The Hornets made a great effort to tie the game, but failed to get out of bounds on a completed pass that would have put them in field goal range.

Mansfield took the lead at the end of the third quarter after senior outside linebacker Matt Tourigney picked off Maas and took it all the way back for a touchdown.

Marshfield’s offense had an up-and-down performance throughout the night, but it was their execution on the other side of the ball that kept them in the game.

“The whole defense (stepped up),” said Arouca. “The defense was unbelievable.”

In a Mansfield drive that almost resulted in a Rams interception, Marshfield’s special teams prowess showed when it blocked a crucial field goal midway through the third quarter.

Defense was the story for both teams tonight, as it was not until the end of the first quarter that either team managed to put points on the board. Mansfield junior kicker drilled a field goal to give the Hornets a 3-0 lead.

Marshfield did not shy away. The Rams responded a couple drives later with Maas slinging the ball all over the field and hitting sophomore wide receiver Luke Richardson for a touchdown. Their two-point attempt was unsuccessful, but still gave the Rams a 6-3 lead.

The Rams’ offensive game plan allowed them to complete all the big passes on the drive, according to Maas.

“I think we had some good play action in there to get the safeties and [defensive backs] moving. I think that messed with them a little bit.”

Coach Arouca kept it simple on what led to the team’s success on the road.

“I think we were just executing… We got a couple different guys to start — we had a couple injuries again that we were trying to overcome. I think once we settled in and started to play, we were having a lot more success moving the ball.”

The Rams look to keep their momentum rolling into next week as they take on Keenan Division foe Silver Lake.

As for Mansfield, the Hornets will have a bye week and look to bounce back when they take on Stoughton on October 10.