IT'S GAME DAY

Booneville and Mansfield will tee it up for the 80th time tonight.

In the milestone meeting the Tigers will be attempting to do something they have not done in 42 years, but to do so they will have to do something they have never done.

Mansfield last beat Booneville in 1980 in a game played at its school’s previous field. The Tigers have never won at Bearcat Stadium, in 17 tries.

Of course this year’s Mansfield team is a little different than some of its predecessors. The Tigers started the year 4-0 before stumbling the last two weeks against Greenland, 19-13, and Charleston, 42-7.

The Bearcats are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Conference 3A-1 play after a 55-21 win at Greenland last week.

The schools have not met every year. Although the time elapsed since a Tiger win is more than four decades there have only been 22 games during that stretch.

Still, with 80 meetings between the schools, Mansfield is the fourth most played opponent behind Paris (91), Ozark (84), and Waldron (81).

The 60 wins over the Tigers by Bearcat teams is tied with Waldron as the most against any opponent. Mansfield has 16 wins in the series and there have been three ties.

Mascots: Booneville Bearcats; Mansfield Tigers
When: 7 p.m., 10-14, at Doug Scheel Field at Bearcat Stadium
Series: Booneville leads 60-16-3 (0.778)
Last Meeting: Bearcats 48 Mansfield 27 on 10-18-19
Streak:Booneville has won last 22
First Meeting: Bearcats 19 Mansfield 0 in 1921 (date unavailable)
Conference Affiliations: Both Booneville and Mansfield are 3A-1

THIS DATE IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY: The Bearcats are 9-4 in games documented to have been played on October 14 with the most recent being a 36-7 win over Waldron in 2016.
On October 14, 1983 the Bearcats and Dover played, arguably the first mercy rule game in state history. The teams played with an 8-minute continuous running clock in the second half. It was 28-0 at the half and that would be the final. Alan King and Andy Napier had returned punts for touchdowns in the first half an already injury riddled Pirate team was down to a single running back and operating out of a pro set.
Anthony Napier ran for 209 yards in a 53-14 win over Clarksville on October 14, 2011.

TODAY IN THE 3A-1: Bearcats v Mansfield; West Fork at Cedarville; Hackett at Charleston, Greenland at Lavaca