(WSYM) — The Mason Bulldogs played in their first-ever state title game at Ford Field on Sunday in the Division 3 State Championship Game. The Mason faithful packed for the Ford Field stands as the Bulldogs looked to finish off a perfect season. Mason was taking on undefeated Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Forest Hills Central scored first on a 35-yard field goal before Mason responded with a long drive of its own. Collin Winters made a 26-yard field goal to cap off a 13-play drive. Forest Hills Central went up 20-3 before Mason was able to put a touchdown on the board. Derek Badgley ran it in from two yards out to cut the deficit to 10. Senior running back AJ Martel was hurt in the first half and only returned to the field for the final play in the second half. Mason was unable to get much other offense going. Junior quarterback Cason Carswell threw two interceptions on the afternoon. Mason's bid for a perfect season fell short 27-10.
"A lot of it I'll have to look back on. It's hard when you're going through it," Mason head coach Gary Houghton said about playing at Ford Field. "This week was challenging but that was one piece of advice I received from a lot of coaches is make sure you take it in and I tried to do that the best I could."
Watch for full highlights from the game and post-game reaction from head coach Gary Houghton and the Mason team.
A copy of the box score can be found here.