Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Shelton retains bragging rights 35 to 19
Shelton High School football players raise the axe after defeating Mason County Cup rival North Mason 35-19 on Friday night at Phil Pugh Stadium in Belfair. The Climbers now lead the series 7-4 after defeating the Bulldogs for the third year in a row.
North Mason's Micah McIntyre breaks up a pass.
The axe went to Belfair in case it needed to change hands, but the Highclimbers ensured the Mason County Cup would remain in Shelton with a 35-19 win Friday in a nonleague football game to open the 2023 season.
Shelton senior quarterback Gabe Conklin had a hand in all five touchdowns, scoring two rushing touchdowns and throwing three more.
"We executed pretty well when we didn't have self-inflicted wounds," Shelton coach Mark Smith told the Journal. "Those extended drives for North Mason and then those penalties stopped our drives, but besides that, it was a very well-executed game. I thought both teams played hard. I thought both teams cared, I thought both teams were aggressive and had a good nature about themselves so it was good from that standpoint."
Smith said the Climbers had 15 penalties, including eight on offense and seven on defense, but they were able to overcome that and never trailed. Shelton kicked off to North Mason and took the ball away and scored for a 7-0 lead. The Climbers led 21-13 at halftime and padded the advantage in the second half. The Shelton defense forced two turnovers on downs and recovered two fumbles.
"I think the biggest thing is our defense decided they weren't going to give up big plays. They got us on a few pass plays but for the most part, we controlled the run really well," Smith said. "Our pursuit was better than it's been. Defense has been working hard on that. I think the game plan on defense was simple and easy to execute, I thought our tackling could be a little better. It's early in the season, you don't tackle a lot, try to keep your guys healthy but those are things that happen."
Conklin was 11 of 16 for 184 yards and threw three touchdown passes to Bennett Henry, Omar Zepeda and Cameron Huisingh.
"(It was) a pretty good night for the first-time-ever-behind-center quarterback that has never played quarterback in his life before," Smith said. "I think he decided he wanted to quit getting yelled at by me. When you have an athletic quarterback, it allows you to do different things. I'm not saying Mason (Goos) wasn't athletic, but there's the ability to have to defend Gabe's legs and his arm. We weren't sure what we were going to get, I had no idea. I was hoping, we were all hoping, but when you have five touchdowns in your first game ever as quarterback, that's pretty dang good."
Smith also commended sophomore kicker AJ Weir, who was five for five on extra points.
Smith said the atmosphere in Belfair was great for football, but not having school in session hurt in building up the anticipation before a Friday football game. He said it was a beautiful night for football.
"The axe looks pretty good on the wall and that cup travels around a little bit, it has a good time," Smith said.
Shelton (1-0) hosts Bremerton (1-0) in a nonleague game for the home opener Friday at Jack Stark Field. The Knights won their opening game 27-12 against Mount Douglas Secondary School from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
North Mason (0-1) travels to Silverdale to face Klahowya in a nonleague game. The Eagles won their opener 28-25 on the road against 2B Coupeville on Friday.
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