PAGE 20 | OCTOBER 12 – 18, 2017
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FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM
Late Strasburg Surge Seals Mason’s 1st Loss of Season BY ALEX MOORE
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The George Mason High School football team suffered its first defeat of the season last Friday, losing 22-21 at home to an aggressive Strasburg Rams squad in a game that was close until the very end. With the defeat, the Mustangs’ record fell to 5-1. Strasburg advanced to 3-3. This high school football game followed a different script than recent Mustang contests, when the team has taken early leads and never surrendered them. In this one, Mason traded punches against a tough opponent and never led by more than seven points. Strasburg opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter before pushing the score to 8-0 with a two-point conversion. Next, the Mustangs countered with two scoring drives of their own. First, Mason senior running back Finn Roou capped a 19-play drive in the second quarter off with a two-yard touchdown, and after halftime he followed up with a nine-yard scamper. The Rams soon evened the game at 14-14, scoring a touch-
SCANNING THE BACKFIELD while warding off blocks is the Mustang defense in the team’s nail-biting 22-21 loss to the Strasburg Rams last Friday. (P����: C������� T���� R���) down and failing on a second two-point conversion attempt. A 30-yard breakaway from
junior running back Jack Felgar would return the advantage to the Mustangs with five minutes
remaining in the game, but it wouldn’t be enough. The Rams turned over the ball
on downs on their next drive, giving Mason a short field and an opportunity to close out the game. However, the Mustangs then committed a momentumkilling penalty, as they had several times throughout the evening, and quickly returned the ball to their opponents. With less than three minutes remaining, Strasburg found a spark. Three big plays moved the Rams across the field for a touchdown, after which they would attempt — and succeed — on yet another two-point conversion to go up for good, 22-21. For the Mustangs, the loss was disappointing, especially considering how a slew of penalties seemed to disrupt a team that’s had played with strong discipline throughout its season. “I think the penalties held us back,” said Mason coach Adam Amerine after the game. “We just can’t afford them since our offense isn’t designed to rely on chunk plays.” After the game, Roou and senior offensive lineman Mitchell McKeon both said they’ll encourage teammates to move on and start focusing on the Oct. 20 contest against Mason’s crosstown rivals, the Marshall Statesmen.
Mustangs Rebound from Short Slump to Win 2 Key Matches BY MATT DELANEY
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Bouncing back from a short mid-season slump, George Mason High School’s volleyball team re-established its winning rhythm with a sweep over Clarke County and 3-2 gritty win against Rappahannock County High School. Against Clarke on Tuesday, Mason was clearly the better team. They passed fluidly, dug out the visiting Eagles’ attempts to score and were able to dictate the pace of the match in a more effective manner overall. The only problem was the Mustangs were well aware of this from the opening set. So yes, the team swept Clarke County with relative ease, but didn’t do so with the level of polish that inspires unwavering confidence. “We have a lot problems finishing, it’s one of the big things we work on in practice so we’re going to try and get better at that,” junior setter Evelyn Duross said. “It might be because we think ‘Oh, we’re so close [to winning the set], this point doesn’t matter,’ but then it starts getting close so we realize we need to start taking
care of business again.” The Mustangs shot out of the gate against Clarke, taking a 16-4 lead without breaking a sweat in the first set. Though a lull in their play allowed the Eagles to shrink the lead to 18-14 in no time. Mason responded by shutting the door on their opponents with a scoring stretch to win the set 25-18, but this trend would pop up in the remaining sets. A 13-4 lead that eventually became a 19-9 advantage should’ve had Mason cruising to another victory. However, the Mustangs eased up for the remaining points and allowed Clarke County to cut into their momentum until Mason regrouped and finished with a 25-18 set victory. A 10-1 start to the third set devolved into a narrow 16-14 edge midway through. Yet again, the Mustangs retaliated with a 25-17 victory, but the unnecessarily close calls put them at risk of upsetting defeats. It’s all the more perplexing because when Mason is backed into a corner, they perform at an exceptional level. On the road against Rappahannock County last Thursday, a 25-22 first set victory was followed by 28-26 second set
POPPING UP an opponent’s scoring attempt is junior McKenzie Brady, who’s helped Mason make sure the team’s losing streak stopped at two games. (P����: C���� S��) and 25-17 third set loss. Facing defeat entering the fourth set, the Mustangs rallied and closed out with a 25-21 win and capped it off with a 15-12 final set victory to take the match. That’s a great sign for a team that’s struggled to coun-
ter their opponent’s hot streaks in the past. “The finishing that we had a problem with [tonight] wasn’t happening then,” Duross continued. “We actually finished all those sets and showed that we
could do it, now we just need to be more consistent in doing it.” Mason will host Central High School tonight before boarding the bus to Strasburg High School to face off against the Rams next Tuesday, Oct. 17.