Mangham’s best shot at a state championship since 1956 came up just short Thursday despite a recordsetting performance in a back-and-forth battle with Haynesville.
The No. 2 Dragons (11-3) rushed for 484 yards and tallied 31 total first downs, both new Division-IV title-game bests, and appeared to have an answer for almost every punch from the No. 1 Golden Tornado (14-0).
But three turnovers, including two returned for first-half touchdowns, proved costly, and Mangham’s methodical comeback drive in the final minutes ended with an incomplete fourthdown pass from the 7-yard line to the end zone and Haynesville escaping, 39-37.
“We fought all year,” coach Scott Wilcher said. “This didn’t just start two or three weeks ago in the playoffs. It started back in January, and we went six days a week. We were up there on Monday through Friday and on Sundays too trying to work on some things too. And it was just an accumulation of those things and these guys working hard every day. Never had to worry about them being there and doing their job, and it paid off to be able to play in the Superdome. Of course you wanna win the game. We’re trying to win something here at Mangham that hadn’t been done since 1956. And we came close today, but didn’t get the job done. But nothing against these guys.”
Senior running back Willie Randolph earned the team’s Outstanding Player honors with his 203 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
Sophomore quarterback Colby Casey completed nine of his 16 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown and rushed 29 times for 133 yards and two scores.
And freshman Kenneth Mitchell carried 14 times for 137 yards and caught five passes for a game-high 36 yards.
“We knew coming into this ball game they were gonna be able to score points and we were gonna be able to score points and the stops were gonna be at a premium,” Wilcher said. “And I think both teams got some stops here and there, but at the end of the day we couldn’t get the stop when we needed it. Plus we turned the ball over twice, and we hadn’t done that all year. But that’s just part of the football game. I’m really proud of these guys and how far they’ve come this year.”
Haynesville struck first with a 25-yard, scoop-andscore fumble return in the opening minutes by sophomore linebacker Ethan Henderson.
But Mangham struck right back with a 97-yard kick return to the other end zone by senior defensive back Reginald Roberson Jr., who signed this month with Northwestern State.
The early offenses began getting into the action midway through the opening quarter, but the explosive early scores set the tone for the back-andforth battle unfolding in front of a good crowd in Caesars Superdome.
“I’d say it was an absolute blessing,” Roberson said of the opportunity to have played for the Dragons and helped lead the program back to its first title game since 2015. “Y’all saw the amount of purple we had out there, the proud community we play for, and I’m just blessed.”
Casey scored a pair of first-half rushing touchdowns, the latter setting up the Murphy Green extra-point that provided Mangham’s first lead, 20-19, early in the second quarter.
A 17-yard pass to senior tight end Blake Pierce helped keep the Dragons within 32-27 at halftime.
And sophomore defensive end Cadyn Harrison punched out a fumble late in the third quarter that Roberson recovered just 3 yards from the end zone and Randolph cashed in two plays later.
Casey found sophomoreTy Wilcher for a two-point pass to give Mangham a 35-32 lead heading into the final quarter.
LSU-signed Haynesville quarterback and safety Isaiah Washington led a six-play, 61-yard drive that moved Haynesville back ahead, 39-35, on his 18-yard dash to the end zone.
And while the Dragons appeared to be putting together an answer with a 16-play, 73-yard drive that ate most of the fourth quarter, the Golden Tornado managed to hold them off just shy.
“That play right there at the end on fourth down, we’ve worked that every day at practice, and it’s paid off,” Scott Wilcher said. “We’ve used it in some games before. But it just didn’t happen. And when you get down to that point, you try to make the best calls you can, so sitting here and secondguessing, I’m not that guy. I’ve never been that guy, and coach (Bo) Meeks has never been that guy and neither has coach (James) Davis. We were gonna lay it all on the line today, and that’s what we did. And our kids played great. You know, we have not been in a game down here. The three years we came down here in ‘13, ‘14 and ‘15, we got the snot kicked out of us and we have not been in the game. And we came down here and we had a chance to win it, and I’m super proud of these guys.”
