by Kate Karstens
The George Mason High School’s varsity football team finished their regular season on Friday, Nov. 6, with a victory over the Central Woodstock Falcons, 43-19, and clinching their spot in the Region 2A East tournament.
Central’s preparation to take down star running back D’Montae Noble was an ill-contrived plan, as Noble’s quick feet and perseverance kept the Mustang offense pushing each quarter. Although Central had seven points on the scoreboard within minutes of the first quarter, the Mustangs ended the quarter with a 40-yard interception by Noble to put Mason at Central’s 45-yard line to begin the second quarter.
“With the plays that Coach A puts together, we played tough on defense,” said Noble, attributing his defensive success to Coach Adam Amerine, the defensive coordinator for the Mustangs.
Positioned at Central’s 20-yard line after another run by Noble, Dustin Green caught a quick pass from Creed and ran it in, amidst strong holding by Central. Sophomore kicker Ethan Morse pushed Mason head-to-head with Central, 7-7 in beginning of the second quarter.
The Mustangs held Central to the 20-yard line on defense, and when the Falcons attempted to complete long passes to their receivers, coverage by corner Justin Thomas and pressure on the quarterback by linebacker Finn Roou forced an eventual turnover.
With the ball in hand, Noble ran 85 yards, pushing down many Central defenders along the way, completing Mason’s second touchdown of the game. Creed capped the scoring drive with a 10-yard pass completion to Green for a two point conversion, 15-7 Mustangs.
Although Central ran in another touchdown, the Mason defense stepped up to fill the void of their inconclusive offense following Central’s 6 points. Noble snatched his second interception of the game and ran it in. Another two point conversion by Creed to Green pushed the Mustangs to 22-13 at the bottom of the first half.
In the second quarter’s final minutes, Roou proved tenacious on defense, sacking the Central quarterback for a 5-yard loss, and later, preventing a Falcon interception from proceeding into Mustang territory. Mason’s first offensive drive of the second half included a variety of running and passing plays. While Noble and Roou ran 15 and 12 yards respectively, Creed completed a 10-yard pass to Green, and then a 30-yard pass into the endzone to Noble.
“D’Montae [made] a fantastic play on the ball by splitting two defenders and coming back to catch the pass” said Creed. “The offensive line did a great job of giving me plenty of time on all my passes.” Sulc ran the ball in for Mason’s third two point conversion, with the score 30-13 to finish the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Central ran in their fourth and final touchdown, leaving the score 30-19, Mason. However, Roou pushed in the final quarter to give Mason two more touchdowns: a quick run into the endzone following a 35-yard run by Green and 15 yards by Sulc, and a crushing 25-yard run to push the final score to 43-19.
“It felt good to get those touchdowns because it sealed the game for us and has given me a lot of confidence for this [upcoming] playoff game,” said Roou.
The Mustangs will host the first round of the Region 2A East tournament on Friday, Nov. 13 for the first time since 1998. They play Amelia County High School.
