Walled Lake Western rallies late but falls to Mason in the Regional Finals

Walled Lake Western and Mason battled in another instant classic in a Regional Finals rematch from a year ago with a trip to the MHSAA Division 3 State Semifinals on the line.

The Warriors and Bulldogs went punch for punch through the first two quarters heading into halftime tied at 10. After the break, Mason hit a pair of explosive plays that gave the Bulldogs a 22-10 lead after three.

Walled Lake Western, though, wouldn’t back down. Donovan Triplett rumbled into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night with under three minutes to play to get the Warriors within five, but they couldn’t recover the onside kick they needed. Mason would hold on to win its fourth-straight regional title, 22-17.

“We told our kids that it was going to be a war, and they were better than us tonight,” said head coach Kory Cioroch. “This was one of the better teams that have ever come out of here, we came up a little short, but accomplished a tremendous amount going undefeated in the regular season, winning a district championship, and set the points per game record with our defense. This is just going to help us continue to claw to get back here and win next time.”

“It’s something we (had) been planning on the entire off season, every day talking about it, to get back to this game,” said Triplett. “We fell short, but to be able to (go undefeated) up until this point is so special. We got to become close knit brothers and this bond, even though football ends, is never going to end.”

This year’s seniors were also the first group to play all four seasons with Cioroch, which is something he says makes this season bittersweet.

“They bought, hook line and sinker, into what was important to us and become a tough, executing, physical football team,” said Cioroch. “I am indebted to those seniors, I’m proud to be their coach, and I am sad that it’s over.”

(Photos: The Oakland Press)