It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Mandarin can now relate to. They fell just short of the Oakleaf Knights by a score of 17-14 on Friday. The matchup was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but the Mustangs couldn't quite close it out.
Despite the defeat, Mandarin saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Kemari Spriggs made 16 total tackles (1.5 for loss) and snagged an interception. The dominant performance also gave Knox Annis a new career-high in rushing yards (67). Mandarin also got a significant boost from Shaunqueze Foster, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 83 yards.
Mandarin wouldn't let Oakleaf keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Mandarin can thank Kevean Herring and Drake Stubbs for forcing both of them. Mandarin got some further help from Spriggs: he made 16 total tackles (1.5 for loss) and snagged an interception.
Oakleaf's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jack McKissock, who threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes. Carlos Witherup was McKissock's top target, picking up 111 receiving yards and a touchdown.
This is the second loss in a row for Mandarin and nudges their season record down to 7-4. As for Oakleaf, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-3.
Mandarin does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Oakleaf, they will challenge Nease at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Nease will roll in looking for their tenth straight win, something Oakleaf surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
