Mansfield Legacy Shuts Down John Tyler + Eliminates Lions From Playoffs With 35-14 Win

FORNEY -- Mansfield Legacy ran it, ran it and ran it some more, eventually running John Tyler out of the playoffs.

Legacy had three players with more than 100 rushing yards and its defense limited John Tyler to season lows in points and yards in a 35-14 victory Saturday afternoon in their Class 4A Division I Region II bi-district contest at City Bank Stadium.

John Tyler (7-4), which reached the state semifinals in each of the last two seasons, lost in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and failed to reach at least 11 wins for the first time since 2008.

Legacy (9-2), which earned its second-ever postseason win, will face McKinney North at 7:30 p.m. Friday from Dallas' Kincaide Stadium in the area round.

Quarterback Terrance Ivery led the Broncos' 422-yard rushing attack with 153 yards on 20 carries. He also passed for 96 and a touchdown. Kijana Amous carried 29 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns, while Kenton Mayberry ran for 108 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts.

Despite being gashed on the ground, John Tyler's defense did its best to keep the Lions in the game by forcing three turnovers. John Tyler, which was held to 239 yards of offense, couldn't take advantage and twice committed turnovers inside the Legacy 30.

"We didn't capitalize on the turnovers that we created," said John Tyler coach Ricklan Holmes. "The defense put our offense in a great position to put a lot of points on the board, but we just didn't capitalize. And when you're playing a great football team and you make breaks for yourself, you've got to be able to capitalize on those breaks and we just didn't do it."

John Tyler was held scoreless until late in the third quarter when quarterback Geovari McCollister cut the deficit to 21-7 with a 3-yard scoring run at the 3:44 mark. Jalen Jones recovered a loose ball for the Lions on the ensuing pooch kick, but McCollister fumbled it back to Legacy on first-and-goal at the 10.

"You can't make mistakes and think that you're going to win a football game," Holmes said. "It takes more than talent to win football games; it takes football players. And football players are aggressive, knowledgeable and they understand the game. I think the passion part is there for my kids. It's just that I don't think they understand the game quite like they should, and that's something we've got to work on during the offseason."

Legacy responded with a back-breaking, 10-play scoring drive that ended with Amous' 3-yard touchdown, which gave the Broncos a 28-7 lead just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.

John Tyler forced and recovered a fumble on Legacy's next possession, and the Lions traveled 62 yards in five plays, cutting the deficit to 28-14 with 8:50 remaining on McCollister's 16-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cain.

Legacy put the game away moments later when Mayberry raced 34 yards to end zone with 7:51 remaining. After forcing John Tyler into a three-and-out, Legacy killed the final 6:27 of the clock by going the length of the field on a drive that began on its own 3.

McCollister finished the day 14 of 25 passing for 141 yards, but was held to just 35 rushing yards on 26 carries.

"Geo, for the most part, I think he made some pretty good decisions tonight," Holmes said of his junior quarterback. "Some of them were questionable, but that's what happens when you have a young quarterback."

The first quarter belonged to Legacy, which took the game's opening possession 75 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. A 36-yard gain by Amous and a 17-yarder from Ivery set up Amous' 1-yard touchdown at the 9:38 mark. Following back-to-back three-and-outs for JT, Legacy went up 14-0 late in the quarter when Terrance Ivery hit receiver Gentry Ivery on a screen pass that went 49 yards for a score.

The Lions did not collect a first down and netted just 14 yards in the opening 12 minutes.

Jordan Caldwell helped the JT defense contain Legacy for the rest half by recovering a Terrance Ivery fumble on the Broncos' first drive of the second quarter and intercepting the Legacy quarterback at the end of the half. The Lions had a chance to get points before halftime, but Harris Tafah scooped up a McCollister fumble deep in Legacy territory with 34 seconds remaining.

Legacy went up 21-0 on its first drive of the third quarter when Terrance Ivery connected with Gentry Ivery for a 24-yard touchdown as it become apparent JT's season was nearing conclusion.

"Next year I hope to win a district championship and a state championship," Holmes said. "It's not the talent we have coming back, I've got to have some football players. They've got to understand the game and they've got to know exactly what we need to do every single day, every single game."

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Class 4A Division I Region II Bi-District Playoff

Mansfield Legacy 35, John Tyler 14

City Bank Stadium, Forney

Mansfield Legacy          14    0    7   14   --   35
John Tyler                      0    0    7     7   --   14
First Quarter
ML--Kijana Legacy 1 run (Daniel Alford kick), 9:38.
ML--Gentry Ivery 49 pass from Terrance Ivery (Alford kick), :41.
Third Quarter
ML--Gentry Ivery 24 pass from Terrance Ivery (Alford kick), 6:29.
JT--Geovari McCollister 3 run (Jose Perez kick), 3:44.
Fourth Quarter
ML--Amous 3 run (Alford kick), 11:50.
JT--Nick Cain 16 pass from McCollister (Perez kick), 8:50.
ML--Kenton Mayberry 34 run (Alford kick), 7:51.

                                        ML                  JT
First Downs                         27                 14
Total Yards                        518                239
Rushes-Yards                66-422            35-98
Passing Yards                      96               141
Comp.-Att.-Int.                 5-7-1         14-25-0
Punts-Avg.                      2-23.5           5-39.2
Fumbles-Lost                       2-2               2-2
Penalties-Yards                   7-67             7-79

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Mansfield Legacy, Terrance Ivery 20-153, Kijana Amous 29-152, Kenton Mayberry 16-108, Mike Sanders 1-9. John Tyler, Dyran McDuff 3-44, Geovari McCollister 26-35, Jeremy Wilson 6-19.
PASSING--Mansfield Legacy, Terrance Ivery 5-7-1--96. John Tyler, McCollister 14-25-0--141.
RECEIVING--Mansfield Legacy, Gentry Ivery 2-73, Josh Conrad 2-18, Braxton Thomas 1-5. John Tyler, Nick Cain 8-87, Rodney Bendy 3-23, Andre Crawford 2-15, Wilson 1-16.