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Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 -Shelton-Mason County Journal- Page B-1
North Mason's Trey
game. The Bulldogs
Journal photos by Shawna
Fisher makes a leaping catch against two Tenino defenders with about a minute left
squeaked by the Beavers 8-6 on Nov. 4 at Phil Pugh Stadium in Belfair.
North Mason's late score
the difference in team's
final game of season
BY MICHAEL HEINBACH
michae/@masoncoun corn
The North Mason foot-
ball team capped the season
on a positive note with an
8-6 comeback victory over
Tenino in a nonconference
nail-biter Nov. 4 at Phil
Pugh Stadium in Belfair.
"It was really great for
the kids to finish on a win-
ning note, but I guess that
goes without saying," said
Bulldogs head coach Phil
Pugh. "We really struggled
for much of the season, so to
get a win at the end like we
did gives us some momen-
tum going into next season.
It's a good feeling for the
kids."
North Mason fell behind
early, When Tenino junior
quarterback Miles Cannon
connected with sophomore
running back Jace Griffis on
a 31-yard touchdown pass
in the first quarter, but that
was all the scoring the Bull-.
dog'defense would yield.
The Beavers kept North
Whelan
in the
North Mason senior Tristin MuUins receives flowers as part of senior night activities
before the game. Mullins plans to attend a four-year college and pursue a degree in
the medical field.
Mason off the scoreboard of the season, North Mason Blondell, who set up the
through three quarters and took over with 1:22 remain- final touchdown with a 35-
held a 6-2 lead late into the ing and no timeouts on its yard pass to Fisher on third
game after a bad snap by own 41-yard line. Devon down, finished 6 of 13 in the
Tenino led to a scramble for Blondell hit Trey Fisher air for 89 yards and ran for
a loose football that went with the game-winningtally 75 more.
out of the end zone for a with 45 seconds left, though Rick Miller collected 10
Bulldog safety with just Blondell's pass on the ensu- tackles, Mario Nanez had
over eight minutesieft, ing two-point conversion at-
On its final possession tempt fell incomplete, see BULLDOGS, page B-4
TIlE HOT CORNER
happened just shy of a quarter-
century ago, but I remember it
uite vividly. What I recall most
about that summer afternoon in 1992
is the feeling of
emptiness that
washed over me
the day my ath-
letic career came
to a close.
I had dreamt of
becoming a profes-
sional baseball
player as far back
as I can remember, By MICHAEL
but by the time I HEINBACH
was 18, the harsh
reality of my physical limitations had
rendered that dream to be just that
-- a dream. So, playing Babe Ruth
league ball the summer after my se-
nior year of high school was to be my
swan song with organized baseball.
I wasn't playing for a college ath-
letic scholarship or to impress Major
League Baseball scouts, I was simply
playing a final season of summer ball
purely for my love of the game.
My team reached the first round
of the playoffs that summer, but
dropped its first and only postseason
contest in walk-off fashion. When the
opposing team's runner crossed the
plate with the game's winning tally
in the bottom of the final inning to
abruptly end the contest, with me
looking on from my post at catcher, I
was stunned. It was then the realiza-
tion struck me with a force so hard it
nearly buckled my knees -- I would
never again be a baseball player.
In a daze, I joined my teammates
in a handshake line to greet and con-
gratulate the other team. But after
issuing that last handshake to one fi-
nal opponent, I stayed frozen on that
ballfield for a few minutes. There I
stood, still sweaty and dusty, proudly
wearing my chest protector and shin
guards, my catcher's mitt attached
to my left hand and my mask and
helmet tucked under my right armpit.
My stomach was in knots and tears
were choked back before I built up
the nerve to walk away from my own
• personal field of dreams. Up to that
point, I had been an athlete nearly
see CORNER, page B-4
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