Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Shelton 39, North Mason 18
Shelton High School football players huddle after defeating intracounty rival North Mason Friday at Jack Stark Field at Highclimber Stadium in Shelton to win the 10th annual Mason County Cup 39-18.
Shelton High School's Dante Trikoff is tackled by North Mason's Trevon Simons.
Bradley Eleton is tackled by North Mason's Cole McCormick.
The axe is staying in Shelton after the Highclimbers defeated North Mason 39-18 Friday in the 10th Mason County Cup game.
It was a tale of two halves for Shelton, scoring just six points in the first half, but the team scored on all but one possession in the second half.
"Well, I wasn't very happy with the first half," Shelton coach Mark Smith said after the game. "We didn't get anything started. We struggled and we really didn't get much flow, just staggering, wasn't much energy. We found energy at halftime and came out and I thought our O-line and our run game came alive and started managing the game. North Mason was prepared and ready and these rivalry games can go any way you want. I'm just happy we came out on the right side of this one."
Smith said the biggest differences between the two halves was attitude, execution and effort.
Shelton senior Bradley Eleton got it done on both sides of the ball. He rushed for three touchdowns and made several plays as a safety on defense.
"I think first quarter, first half, we didn't play the best, but second half, we definitely picked it up and we dominated this game," Eleton told the Journal. "Every two plays, I was going in and they told me just don't come out when I went in and I scored first play."
Eleton ended the game with 14 carries for 106 yards and three scores. Jayden Fuller added 88 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Connor Gilman chipped in eight carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Shelton quarterback Mason Goos was 7 of 14 passing for 69 yards. Dante Trikoff led the Highclimbers with four catches for 35 yards and Gabe Menefee tallied two catches for 41 yards.
Blaze Andrew had two sacks and three tackles for loss for Shelton. Hunter Leth and Cameron Huisingh each led the team with four tackles.
North Mason had a 12-6 lead at halftime and it looked like the Bulldogs could pull the upset, but injuries and cramping took some of the best players off of the field in the second half. The Bulldogs were also up against a team that had more than double the players on the opposing sidelines.
"Honestly, I feel like they played very well," North Mason coach Rob Thomas said. "The score is not indicative of actually how the game was. Shelton's coach came over to me after the game and he was very impressed with our team and said they were well prepared. The injury bug bit us there midway through the third quarter and a couple big penalties cost us some yards and we have a whole different game if we have some healthy players. Very proud of them. We grew as a team. For coming out and not playing Shelton for the last couple years, we're looking forward to building off our successes and getting after it next weekend against Steilacoom."
North Mason junior running back Trevon Simons left the game a few times with cramps, but had an excellent game while he was on the field.
The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff and put together a more than six-minute drive, capped off by a Simons touchdown run. Shelton responded in the second quarter with Eleton's first touchdown run of the game to tie the game at six.
Simons left with cramps, but returned late in the second quarter and on his first carry, broke to the outside for a 57-yard touchdown run and a 12-6 halftime lead.
The Highclimbers took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove down the field to tie the game on Eleton's second touchdown. North Mason responded and regained the lead with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Micah McIntyre to Cole McCormick for an 18-12 advantage.
Eleton ran in his third score of the game to tie the score and Brendon Keizur converted the first point-after attempt of the game for Shelton's first lead of the night.
An errant snap over the head of McIntyre during a punt attempt went into the endzone and was recovered by Shelton for a touchdown and a 25-18 lead after three quarters.
The Highclimber defense pitched a shutout in the final quarter and touchdown runs by Connor Gilman and Jayden Fuller completed the victory and Mason County bragging rights.
"It feels awesome to be 1-0 and we've just got to keep putting that work in," Eleton said.
Shelton (1-0) travels to Buckley today to take on White River in a nonleague game. White River defeated Capital 21-20 at home Sept. 1 to open the season.
North Mason (0-1) plays Steilacoom in a nonleague home opener tomorrow. The Sentinels lost to Highline 51-0 at home.
The Climbers have won the past two meetings in the 10-game series with the Bulldogs and now lead 6-4.
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