Masuk Free Press

The Masuk Panther’s last scheduled home game of the regular season against the Pomperaug Panthers included many early festivities. From the senior night ceremony where all seniors on the football team, cheerleading squad, and dance team were recognized for their four years representing Masuk High School, to putting on a grand final performance in the bitter cold weather, Friday night, 11.15, was a good one for Masuk. 

Senior night includes a lot of emotions, as it was the last time these seniors would share the field together, ending an era. 

“It’s just giving [the fans] a good game and also standing there next to our brothers,” said senior captain Liam Whalen, “like a family, you know, doing it for the guy next to you and just trusting that they have your back and knowing that you have theirs, just going out there and doing everything one last time on this field.”

During the course of the game, there were many seniors making their lasting impacts with big, game-changing plays.

“…tonight’s all about them,” said Masuk head coach Chris Pace.

Pomperaug would strike first, as when they began driving down the field, they used their quarterbacks and running backs to generate running lanes and get down field. They did so flawlessly with multiple chunk plays on the ground, and quickly found themselves within the five yard line. Pomperaug then rushed right up the middle, but they fumbled the ball in the Panther’s endzone. However, Pomperaug quickly pounced on the ball and scored via recovery. After a successful two-point conversion, Pomperaug was up 8-0, midway through the first quarter. 

Masuk responded when junior quarterback Aaron Champagne threw a screen pass to senior Jake Viglione, who broke a couple tackles, made a defender miss, and took up the field 53 yards for a Masuk score. The first quarter ended there, with a score of 8-6. 

Masuk’s defense then forced Pomperaug to punt the ball after making some key readjustments and stuffing the run game, at the beginning of the second quarter. The Panther offense took advantage, and after a well-sustained drive downfield, sophomore running back Micheal Charland took an outside run for 12 yards, and another Panther score, taking the lead 12-8. Pomperaug would eventually respond as they wore down Masuk’s defense with their same running style. Once they made it within the 25 yard line, Pomperaug ran the ball up the middle and escaped Masuk’s defense, scoring a 23 yard rushing touchdown. The score was now 15-12, heading into halftime. 

The Masuk Panthers began the second half the same way they ended the first. Champagne was finding his trusted senior receivers Steven Curtin and Viglione for gains in the passing game, and Charland finished the drive off with a three yard rushing touchdown, retaking the lead, 18-15. Pomperaug would not score for the rest of the night, as seniors on the Masuk defense made plenty of important stops. Senior defensive back Mateo Pereira had four tackles total, and fellow senior defensive back Austin Keegan had a large punt return that set up the Panthers offense for success. Another senior defensive back, Lorenzo Mathews Dixon, also added to the defensive contributions. Senior linebackers Riley Kyle and Brayden Callahan kept the second level clear, as between them they had a total of nine tackles. Senior defensive linemen Nate Archer and Aiden Diaz kept the pressure in the trenches, forcing many of Pomperaug’s play calls to go array. Viglione added another touchdown on the night and recorded an interception, capping off his night with 115 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns, and one interception. His last touchdown was the last score for the Panthers as they won the game 26-15, after a successful two-point conversion. Viglione’s interception came after, within the final two minutes of the game, where Pomperaug had to throw the ball, down two scores. Masuk’s offense had plenty of game-changing seniors that helped win the game. Senior offensive linemen Damian Tomaszewski, Liam Whalen and David Skripek kept the pocket clear for Masuk’s backfield the whole game. Additionally, senior receivers Ricardo Teixara, Curtin, and Viglione all had some receptions that went for large yardage. 

The Masuk Panthers are now 5-4, and will travel to Newtown on 11.26 in an attempt to finish the season with a win over their cross-town rivals.