Anticipation High as Statewide Football Eyes Turn to History-Chasing Mason
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 8, 2023
MASON – The drone lightly buzzing overhead during the final hour of Mason’s first practice was providing coaches another point of view as another season got underway Monday evening.
But those shouldn’t be the only eyes watching the Bulldogs these days.
Two years ago, the Bulldogs started grabbing attention with a run of eight straight wins that landed them a first Regional championship with a stunning 20-17 win over frequent contender Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.
A statewide audience began focusing in last season on the 8,200-resident town just south of Lansing as Mason returned to the Division 3 Semifinals and finished 12-1, setting a school record for wins with the only loss coming to eventual champion Detroit Martin Luther King for the second-consecutive season.
The Bulldogs return nine starters on offense and eight on defense this fall, led in part by two four-year varsity players and three in their third seasons on the top squad. Not tuning in would be a mistake – and mean missing out on potentially another historic effort.
“It started when we beat the Brother Rice team two seasons ago. That kinda kicked off a little bit of a spark for us here at Mason, and the energy just became the difference,” said senior lineman Nick Saade, one of those three-year varsity standouts. “You could just tell. All of our coaches have been at the weight room every day, giving us harder workouts as each year progresses. We’ve increased everything. The energy is there, all the seniors are back. We’re ready to go.”
Practices in nine sports started for an estimated 95,000 athletes across 750 MHSAA member high schools Monday. And Mason football got a running start. On what felt like the most comfortable first day of practice weather-wise in recent memory, there was no sign the Bulldogs were aiming to sit comfortably after what they’d accomplished the last two seasons.
So many experienced returnees means less to teach the greater group and an opportunity for coaches to start game-planning and focusing on details they might not get to usually until the first third of the season is done.
The program has had plenty of success over the years, including a stretch of 14 winning seasons over 15 from 2002-16. But the combined 39-6 record over the last four seasons is unmatched in Bulldogs history and made Mason a place to be for local media Monday as expectations – and anticipation – likely have never been higher.
“Expectations are high, no question about it – and it’s exciting,” said seventh-year coach Gary Houghton, whose only sub-.500 finish came his first season in 2017. “These guys love a challenge, our coaches love a challenge. … We feel like we have a blueprint that leads to success, and we’re going to stay to that blueprint.
“We’ve tweaked some little things, but the core of what we do, we’re going to continue to do. With the added experience we have coming back, I think we have an opportunity to take it to another level.”
Mason took a solid offense to nearly unstoppable last season, upping its per-game scoring average 12 points to 43 per game. Junior Cason Carswell should begin approaching Mason career passing records in his third season as the starter after setting single-season school records with 2,403 yards and 34 scores through the air last fall in making the Division 3-4 all-state second team.
The Bulldogs return all but one receiver among last year’s starting skill players, with senior running back AJ Martel entering his fourth season on varsity after running for 1,273 yards and 20 scores a year ago behind a line that returns Saade among three starters.
The defense was two points better per game last fall than in 2021 while facing another tough playoff slate, giving up 15 points per game. The entire linebacking group returns, with senior Kaleb Parrish having been named the Lansing State Journal Defensive Player of the Year last season. Senior Derek Badgley and junior Logan Doerr also received postseason all-area recognition at linebacker, as did seniors Tyler Baker and Cole Ries in the defensive backfield and senior Grant Gilchrist and junior Sam Corey up front. Junior Collin Winters, also a soccer player, was an all-area kicker last fall.
The energy Monday was undeniable. Houghton loves the chemistry this group has developed over the last three seasons, starting as a young team grew together during that 2021 run. He credits rebuilding the program’s culture, undertaken in several ways purposefully, as putting this team in this position to put the last two years of experiences and learning toward another championship opportunity.
“Just stay confident. Know you can get the job done. Just trust your teammates,” Carswell said he has learned most.
“We all have huge hopes. A couple of years ago, it was like, ‘Let’s make the playoffs. Let’s make a big run.” Now it’s let’s go for it all.”
Geoff Kimmerly joined the MHSAA in Sept. 2011 after 12 years as Prep Sports Editor of the Lansing State Journal. He is a senior editor of MHSAA.com's editorial content and has served as MHSAA Communications Director since January 2021. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare and Montcalm counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Linemen work on one-on-one drills during Mason’s first football practice Monday evening. (Middle) Third-year starting quarterback Cason Carswell lines up under center. (Photos by Geoff Kimmerly.)
Millington Caps 1st Finals Trip with Decisive 'Forever' Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 30, 2024
DETROIT – Dallas Walsh and his Millington teammates achieved a childhood dream Saturday at the Division 7 Football Final.
But for the sea of red in the Ford Field stands, and the few left watching at home, it was the fulfillment of a dream that started decades before the current Cardinals had taken a single snap.
A suffocating defense combined with a big day on the ground from Walsh gave the Cardinals a 24-0 victory against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, bringing a first Finals trophy home to Millington.
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Walsh said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was probably 8 years old. This is something we’ve all dreamt of, and it’s really an amazing experience. Our whole community backed us the whole way. I’m just so glad that we came out with the win.”
The Cardinals were making the first Finals appearance in program history, as they were 0-6 in Semifinal appearances prior to this season.
That just made getting over the hump that much more special.
“It means the world to us,” Millington coach Jason Germain said. “We were 0-6 going into the Semifinals, and we heard about that. These kids knew that. They fulfilled my dreams, and they fulfilled a lot of people in the community’s dreams. If you couldn’t tell, you’d think that was a Division 1 game out there with that many people in the crowd. It is truly, in small towns like Millington and Frankenmuth, that’s what we cling to. We don’t have a lot in our community, but we have our Friday nights and we have our football program. That’s what it really, truly means. We told our guys, pain is temporary, championships are forever, and that’s what they really bought into. And it’s a true testament to our community. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a good night in Millington tonight.”
That fun night will no doubt include tales of a monstrous defensive effort from the Cardinals, which included three forced turnovers and allowing just 3.2 yards per play.
SMCC came into Saturday’s Final averaging 36.3 points and 240.5 rushing yards per game, but wasn’t able to get anything going against a stout Millington front. The Falcons were held to 131 yards of total offense and 68 yards on the ground.
“They did to us what we’ve been doing to teams for 13 games, so I think that’s a testament to them,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said. “... They brought it on every single play. I don’t think they lost any energy throughout the game, and they were physical. We’d seen that on tape. We figured they’d wear down a little bit, and they did not wear down.”
The Cardinals held SMCC to 2.3 yards per carry, and when quarterback Ian Jones did drop back to pass, he was often greeted with a defender in his face. Millington finished the game with four sacks, getting two apiece from Logan Myers and Brevin Hendricks, which resulted in 34 lost yards for the Falcons.
The Cardinals also forced three interceptions, with Truk Terbush picking off two and Owen Kreger snagging the other.
“We shut out (Pewamo-Westphalia); they’re a prolific offense. We held North Muskegon to 14 until the end of the game – our defense is outstanding, and that’s a credit to our defensive coordinator (Lenny Dantinne) and these guys buying in,” Germain said. “I can’t say enough about these guys and Coach Dantinne and all of our coaches for preparing these guys. You don’t just shut out a team like Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central unless you’re doing film study and working hard.”
Offensively, Walsh, who had a team-high eight tackles, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Landon Russell had 67 yards on two carries, including a 64-yard TD run. Terbush finished 7-of-12 for 58 yards and a touchdown, and one interception.
Millington (13-0) had a significant field position advantage through most of the first half, and it was finally able to cash in on that late in the second quarter when Walsh opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals put themselves right back into a dangerous position on the next play from scrimmage when Terbush intercepted a pass near midfield and returned it to the SMCC 15. The Falcons defense limited the damage, but Millington took a 10-0 lead with a 25-yard Larry Shoens field goal.
SMCC (13-1) was able to create a chance during the final seconds of the half, as Cole Reinhardt returned the ensuing kick 44 yards into Millington territory. But Kreger intercepted a pass in the endzone as time expired to preserve the Cardinals’ 10-point halftime lead.
That would have been enough, thanks to the outstanding effort of the Millington defense, but Landon Russell added a 64-yard TD run late in the third quarter on what was by far the game’s most explosive play. Russell’s run covered more ground than the SMCC offense had been able to gain up until that point (50 yards).
It’s a play that was supposed to go to Walsh, but he made the decision to switch with Russell after it was called.
“It was really, I told (Russell) I needed a breather, so I said, ‘Go get one,’” Walsh said.
That run capped a 95-yard drive for the Cardinals, as they started at their own 5-yard line, and opened the possession with a false start to fall back to the 2½.
“That was the turning point in the game for us,” Germain said. “They could have stopped us there, but our kids persevered and we just went old school football – flanker, double tight, and we just pounded the ball and scored on that. That was the huge part of the game for me, personally.”
The Cardinals tacked on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Terbush to Brevin Hendrick with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
SMCC was led by Lucas Linzell’s 12 tackles, while Brady Hines had eight, including 2.5 for loss. Jack Starner had one sack for the Falcons, and Drew Ferreira had an interception.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Kipf said. “They fought and they battled. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Millington’s Dallas Walsh (5) busts into a wide opening during Saturday’s Division 7 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) The Cardinals’ Brevin Hendricks (11) chases SMCC quarterback Ian Foster in the backfield. (Below) Millington coach Jason Germain holds up the championship trophy as he’s embraced by one of his players. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)