The undefeated Masuk Panthers have been near flawless all year long, and on senior night it was no different. After the ceremony for all of the seniors, there was still business to take care of, nonetheless. With the New Milford Green Wave coming to town with a record of 5-4, the Panthers handled them convincingly and posted a defensive shutout with a final score of 41-2.
Of course the Masuk Panther seniors made their fair share of plays, but junior Nate O’Hara made the first. Catching the opening kickoff, he bounced off and out ran multiple New Milford tacklers, and reached the endzone which opened the onslaught of scoring. Senior offensive tackle Jake Kyle lined up for the PAT, and snuck it through the uprights, making the score 7-0. New Milford’s first drive was quickly ended by senior Tanner Walker after a pass breakup on third down. The Panthers’ next drive seemed like they would be forced to punt it away, but a fake punt saw sophomore Ethan Jarries catch the ball for a first down. With a new set of downs, senior captain quarterback Aaron Champagne led the offense downfield. Once they were in the redzone, Champagne threw a tough interception looking for Walker in the endzone. The Green Wave didn’t get anywhere with their next offensive drive, and Champagne got the Masuk offense back on track after a long rush by senior running back Nico Convertito put the Panthers in scoring range where Champagne ran in for the touchdown thereafter, making the score 14-0 after sophomore Kenny Hoyos’ PAT was good. The Green Wave couldn’t move the ball on offense, as senior captain Luke Costantini was routinely disrupting the backfield as he’s done all year, and on third-down senior defensive back Justin Zyskowski forced an incompletion, which forced a New Milford punt. Starting at the 50-yard line, Walker caught a short pass from Champagne and juked out three New Milford defenders and made his way all the way to the endzone for another touchdown, turning the score to 21-0 after the successful PAT. Senior captain defensive end Daniel Balestriere got a sack on the next drive, and another pass-breakup by Walker destroyed New Milford’s drive. On the Panthers ensuing drive, Walker caught another long pass from Champagne for another Masuk touchdown. Walker then recorded an interception, and the Panthers ran an alternate formation in the endzone. Balestriere was lined up in the backfield, and he received the snap and rumbled to the outside and turned up the side-line, seemingly scoring the short rushing touchdown, but a holding call reversed the score. The Panthers tried running Balestriere a couple more times, but the Green Wave made one of their few stops of the game to end the first half.
The third quarter began with another Masuk defensive stop. With the ball back in the Panthers hands at their own 11 yard-line, Champagne rolled out of the pocket to his right, and dumped the ball off to a wide open Al Morgenthaler. The senior wide receiver ran all 89 yards to the endzone, and made for another Masuk score.
“I looked back, saw [Champagne] was in trouble in the pocket, and I just turned it into a hitch and went and took off,” said Morgenthaler.
The Panthers got another defensive stop, but on Masuk’s next drive, a fumbled snap led to a safety and gave two points to the Green Wave. To end the game, Convertito strung together three long runs to eventually score, making the score 41-2.
“We know how good we are,” said Champagne. “We know what we’re capable of, and that’s the level we execute [at] every week.”
The Panthers stay undefeated and will play in the Thanksgiving Eve classic against Newtown, looking to complete an undefeated regular season.
“These guys are just hungry to be the best on the field every week,” said head coach Chris Pace.
Be sure to keep following the Panthers as they make their way into the playoffs, and see if they can capture the ultimate prize.
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