Masuk Free Press

On Friday, October 13, Masuk barreled past a hot 3-1 Joel Barlow, winning 49-14. Coming into the matchup, senior defensive end Tristan Smith stated, “Barlow only likes to run the ball, they throw maybe once or twice a game, so we were focused on stopping the run and the triple option. With the defense we have, we can hopefully hold them to barely any points.”

Freshman Aaron Champagne continued to start at quarterback in the absence of Senior quarterback Robert Klein. Along with running in for his first career touchdown, he also threw for over 320 yards, combining with older brother Jason Champagnes six touchdowns to lead Masuk to a dominant victory.

Apart from winning, the Panthers were fighting for another cause. This week the students and players were supporting breast cancer by holding a “think pink” game. Smith stated, “It does mean a lot to us, we know there’s going to be a kid with leukemia in the stands. We’re going to write “4 Ben” on our arm sleeves and we’re wearing orange sweatbands. We all signed a game ball for him and we’re really looking forward to bringing home the win.” This source of motivation surely lit a fire under the Panthers as they got out to a quick start.

From the start, the Panthers got young Aaron Champagne involved, starting off the first drive with a deep ball that fell just incomplete. After a 20 yard completion to Shane Walker, Masuk was held to a 4th down, where they turned it over and Barlow quickly scored, going up 7-0 early in the first. The second drive began with a brother to brother connection, with a big gain to senior Jason Champagne. After a deep ball to junior Max Viglione, Champagne scored his first of the night.

“Jason Champagne is looking fantastic right now, he’s scanning the field really well and just getting after it.” stated Colin Valle, a member of the max capacity Masuk student section.

After stopping Barlow, Champagne had another huge run, ending with a stiff arm that carried him down to the one yard line, and the next play he walked it in for the touchdown. Barlow was again stopped after a big hit on the quarterback forced a fumble, recovered by junior defensive back Tariq Al-Hameedi.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the score stood at Masuk 14, Barlow 7. By running the ball and utilizing the screen pass, Masuk continued to push up the field and gash the Barlow defense. This momentum quickly resulted in a second rushing touchdown for Jason Champagne.

After the score, Masuk caught Barlow off guard with an onside kick which they recovered, retaining possession of the ball. With time winding down and four minutes left in the half, quarterback Aaron Champagne heaved a deep ball upfield for the senior running back Jason Champagne. This play and another failed Barlow drive allowed Masuk to punch in two more rushing touchdowns taken in by Aaron Champagne on a scramble, and an outside handoff to his older brother Jason.

Quarter three starts off with Masuk 35, Barlow 7. Barlow, a run heavy team, was forced to transition to throws to make a dent in the deficit. After a 30 yard completion, they were initially stopped on a goal line push but broke through for a touchdown the next play. Barlow was held scoreless for the remainder of the game.

When asked how Masuk planned to stop Joel Barlow’s run game, senior Colin Hope says “Coach Halpin preached discipline this week, so we all know our keys, we all know our assignments, and we all know the jobs we had to complete in order to win this game. Running the triple option offense, it’s hard to stop, we stuck to our keys and it showed.”

Masuk, on the other hand, ran the ball most of the quarter, killing clock with Champagne continuing for two more touchdowns.

After an electric third quarter, the rapid scoring slowed down as Masuk simply had to run the clock to earn the win. After a series of offensive penalties drove Barlow towards their own endzone, Masuk came up with a massive stop to force a punt. After retaking possession of the ball, they ran out the final minutes of the game and secured a win with a final score of 49-14 in a complete domination of Barlow. 

Photography: Emily Barnhart