The George Mason varsity football team delivered a crushing 49-29 defeat of Sidwell Friends on Friday night, avenging their 22-40 loss last season. A second-half defensive adjustment and strong play from junior Finn Rouu, and seniors Mackenzie Steeves and Dustin Green led the Mustangs to the victory, which avenged the team’s loss from last year.
Mason trailed the Quakers in the first half, ending the first half down 29-20, with Sidwell’s final touchdown of the second quarter with three minutes left. Mason concluded the half with a 35 yard rushing touchdown from junior Finn Roou with a minute left on the clock, foreshadowing at the Mustang’s comeback in the second half.
To eliminate the offensive threat from the Quakers, Mason changed their defense to focus on shutting down Sidwell’s passing game and succeeded in keeping the visiting Quakers scoreless through the second half.
“Once we stopped them, they only ran 15 plays in the second half,” said head coach Tony Green. “After watching them on film, I knew their quarterback and wide receiver would give us trouble but I thought we would win.”
The Mustangs were out for revenge in the second half and senior Mackenzie Steeves started off the half with a hard tackle on Sidwell’s kick returner, proving that Mason was ready to come back with high energy and the motivation to triumph in the second half.
Roou and Steeves were strong players for Mason’s defense, putting pressure on Sidwell’s quarterback and receiver, effectively shutting down their only option for touchdowns. Senior lineman Patrick Lin was a huge contribution to this effort, bringing Sidwell’s quarterback back five yards with a sack that served as a blow to morale for Sidwell’s offense.
“We came out of halftime ready to roll,” said junior quarterback Thomas Creed. “Our defense did a great job locking down some of Sidwell’s receivers, and the offense ran over them once we got the ball back.”
Mason’s offense relied heavily on their ability to run the ball with senior running back Dustin Green and sophomore Jack Felgar. Green rushed for 206 yards in the game, with a big run of forty to give Mason the edge for their first touchdown of the fourth quarter, and ran in another nine yards to bring Mason only two points behind Sidwell.
“We’ve got a lot of strong runners, and it allows us to be balanced as an offense,” Creed said.
Despite the loss of star players D’Montae Noble and Hunter Sulc, the Mustangs are already proving to be more successful this season, with a Bull Run District Record of 2-0. Dustin Green, who last year split time between wide receiver and running back is now spending the full duration of games at running back.
At fullback, Roou was instrumental in Mason’s running game, pushing for many first downs and protecting Green and Felgar on their routes. Furthermore, he proved to be just as effective on defense and special teams, as Mason’s onside kickoff recovery was credit to Roou.
As a result of Mason’s speedy repossession, Felgar was able to push for a fifteen yard touchdown, his first of the game in the fourth quarter. Green finished Mason’s offensive run with a two point conversion, putting Mason ahead of Sidwell, 42-29 with eight minutes left.
Felgar finished Mason’s scoring for the night with his second touchdown, a ten-yard rush into the end zone, sealing Sidwell’s fate with a final score of 49-29.
“Sidwell beat us last year so we knew that they would be a tough opponent, but we felt confident that we could win because of all the seniors that we’re returning this year and the kind of talent we have,” Creed said.
Mason will go to Luray High School (2-0) on Friday, September 16, at 7 p.m.
“Luray is very similar to us,” Green said. “It’s like playing your mirror image. It will be a very physical game, they’re a good team and have the same record as us.”
Last year, Mason suffered a tough 12-7 loss to the Bulldogs. But if the Sidwell game was any indication of the Mustang’s resilience, the game will be hard fought and filled with high energy.
