MASON, TX — For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Junction Eagles have defeated the Mason Punchers, 27-16.
The year was 2006. Pluto has just been demoted from planet to dwarf planet, Twitter was invented, Junction head coach Scott Freeman was a senior in high school, and the Junction Eagles beat the Mason Punchers, 21-0.
That was the last time the Eagles beat the Punchers before Friday night.
Junction took the opening kickoff and drove down the field, and Eagle quarterback Chasen Doyal found Kode Bierschwale on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Junction the early 7-0 lead with 9 minutes and 49 seconds left in the first quarter. Mason would get the football and attempt a fake punt but would not be able to convert, and the Eagles would take over.
On third and 7, Doyal found Casen Roberts, who snagged the ball over two Punchers on the sideline to continue their drive that would end with another Bierschwale, Bode, catching a Doyal pass to extend the Eagles' lead to 13-0 with 2:31 left in the opening quarter.
To end the first quarter, Mason quarterback Ryder Balmos was taken down by Junction’s Hunter Dale on third and 11. With that, the Eagles reclaimed possession of the football and would look to take control of this game early.
That was until the Eagles fumbled the ball with 9:38 left in the second and Mason would take it back. On a mission and with 6:36 left in the first half, Mason’s Clancy Osbourn would punch in a 9-yard touchdown to get the home team on the board, 13-7.
In the closing seconds of the half, Balmos found Osbourn for a 6-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point attempt, Mason took the lead, 14-13. On Junction’s next drive and with little time to score, Doyal was sacked by the Punchers' Slade Buell to end the half.
The Punchers, who started their first drive off with a pre-snap penalty and a slow start, walked into halftime scoring 14 unanswered points and with all the momentum. The 18-year streak of Mason winning this rivalry hung in the balance. Junction had already lost two fumbles in the first half and had to find a way to turn things around.
They proved they wouldn't be pushed over and let the pressure win. In the third quarter with 5:13 left, Doyal found Roberts for a 19-yard score to reclaim the lead, 19-14. Not only did they retake the lead, but they did so on a long pass on fourth down.
On top of taking the lead, the Eagles ended the third quarter with a huge stop on fourth down.
With the Eagles in possession of the ball, the third Bierschwale brother, Brock, took the handoff around the left side of the line and down the field for a 57-yard touchdown run to extend Junction’s lead, 27-14.
Mason wouldn't be able to do much on the ensuing possession, but on the next Eagles drive, the Punchers punched the ball out for a third time to give themselves another opportunity. It again came down to fourth down, and the Eagle defense would make a stand to get the turnover on downs.
With just over three minutes left in the game, the Eagles were backed up against the end zone and Mason did it again. They forced Doyal to fumble the ball, but this time Junction offensive lineman Kaden Haak pounced on the ball at the 1-yard line. On the next play, the left guard committed a false start, which moved the Eagles back to the half-yard line.
Some strategy would come into play next. It was third down and the Eagles had to cover 14 yards to get a new set. A tall task for any football team. So, Coach Freeman decided to hand the ball off to Aiden O’Brien who would take the ball to the left and look for a seam, but ultimately he ran out of bounds in the end zone, giving up a safety. Now, the score is 27-16, and the Punchers are receiving the post-safety kick.
With Mason’s ability to score fast, it was important that the Eagles not give them any opportunities to put up 14 points in the closing minutes of the game. Another fumble in the end zone, a kickoff returned for a touchdown, a pick-six, any manner of ways the Punchers were able to score could have happened. Junction gave up the two points so that Mason could only get a possible 10 points out of the next series of plays. If the Punchers had scored, they still would’ve been down 3 points, and they would have had to recover an onside kick with so little time left.
None of that ended up happening.
After the kickoff, the Eagles defense held and on third and 10 as Balmos took the snap and nearly was sacked. He spun out of trouble and targeted one of three Mason receivers, Kingston Garza, Jaxson Reichenau, or Jaxon Valverde. The problem was the Eagles had four defenders in the same area as well in Doyal, Dale, Brock Bierschwale and Roberts, who ended up with an interception, making up for a dropped pick earlier in the game.
The Junction stands went nuts and, after running a few plays, time expired and the Eagles left the Puncherdome victorious over Mason, 27-16. Not only are the Eagles undefeated, but they ended the 18-game streak owned by the Punchers.
Coach Freeman would not confirm with media in his post-game interview whether Junction’s four fumbles were to keep the crowd in the game. He did, however, give the Punchers all the credit in the world for making those plays and forcing the Eagles to put the ball on the grass.
The Punhers should not hang their heads in defeat. This Junction team returned 13 starters from last year’s team that reached the state quarterfinals and are currently ranked No. 6 in the state.
Next week, the Junction Eagles get another rematch, this time with a playoff opponent from last season, the Falls City Beavers. This game will be played in Junction at 7:30 p.m. Friday The Mason Punchers take on the Christoval Cougars in the Puncherdome at 7 p.m.
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