September 28, 2026 (Photo Album) - The Joaquin Rams varsity football team redeemed themselves with a 42-34 point win over the Mansfield Wolverines on Thursday, September 24th. Joaquin is heading into District play 4-1.
Joaquin started the first drive of the game at their own 41-yard line. At 4th and 6, Cooper Bragg faked a punt for an 18-yard gain and 1st down. Mansfield made the Ram’s run game difficult, so Quarterback Trenton Runnels had to find Bragg for a 10-yard pass and later a 28-yard passing touchdown. In Ram style, they went for the two-point conversion, putting them on the scoreboard first after 5 minutes of play time; 8-0. In the Wolverine’s opening drive, offense started at their 39-yard line where they had better luck running down the field than the Rams did. Mansfield’s Jaterrious Howard made headway with a 16-yard running gain and Jaydan Hamilton with a 19-yard rushing touchdown. WIth a minute left in the first quarter, Mansfield tied the game up 8-8.
At 3rd and long at the 42-yard line on the next drive, Runnels handed the ball off to Cooper Bragg who found holes in the Mansfield defensive line for a 29 yard carry, putting the Rams at the 13-yard line. The Rams had a 5-yard penalty pushing them back to the 18-yard line on 3rd down, but Runnels managed to find Bragg for a touchdown pass; Cooper Bragg flipped into the endzone for the two-point conversion. Rams led 16-8 with 8:40 left in the first half. Mansfield wasted no time tying up the game; with 2 plays, a 56-yard rushing touchdown by Hamilton and a two-point conversion, the game now 16-16 at the 8:20 minute mark. On their next drive, Joaquin offense inched the ball down the field with the help of Runnels, Bragg and Amarion Wilson. At 4th & 5 and 36 seconds remaining in the half, Runnels finds Bragg in the corner for a Rams touchdown! The two-point conversion was no good, providing the Rams with a 6 point edge heading into the second half.
Mansfield started the second half with the ball, but Joaquin’s Hunter Kay jumped on a fumble at Mansfield’s 44-yard line. Runnels tossed the ball back to Bragg for a 40-yard rushing touchdown. Only taking a minute off of the clock, Joaquin led 28-16 after Dagan Lee failed to get the 2-point conversion. Mansfield answered back on their next drive with a 16-yard pass play from JJ Howard to Zayvon Sanders, putting them in the red zone. Defensive lineman Runnels and Lee had a great QB sack to keep the Wolverines from advancing, but Howard did not let Joaquin’s defensive line strike again. The senior quarterback pushed his way into the end zone; Wolverines trailed 22-28.
With 8:35 left to play in the third quarter, Cooper Bragg added another kickoff return touchdown to his statistics. The 65-yard run gave the Rams a 34-22 lead. As the chess match continued, Mansfield’s Sanders made their way back into the endzone, shortening the spread by 6 with 5:00 left in the 3rd. On the Ram’s following drive, offense was 3rd & 3 at midfield, where Cooper Bragg gave Joaquin another chance with a 12-yard rushing gain for the 1st down. The same situation happened again when the Rams were at Mansfield’s 33-yard line. Now at the 12-yard line, the Rams ended the third quarter at 3rd & 6 to go. The Wolverines made the Rams offense fight for every yard, but the home team prevailed as Trent Runnels pushed his way into the end zone. The Rams led 42-28 and 9:22 left in the game.
Starting their final drive of the night, Mansfield started at the 50-yard line. The Rams' defense made it just as difficult for their opponents to move down the field as they did. At 4th down, the Wolverines went for it at the 22-yard line and the risk paid off with a 16-yard pass to Hamilton. QB Howard took the ball in for a touchdown, making it a 6-point ball game and 4:34 minutes remaining. Neither team managed to score the rest of the game, giving the Rams a 42-34 victory over the Mansfield Wolverines.
The Rams will enjoy a bye week for the Poultry Festival before making the trip to Shelbyville to play the Dragons on Thursday, October 8th for a 7:30pm kickoff.
