Mason Larson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover McClintock High School for AZPreps365.com

The McClintock Chargers hosted the Desert Mountain Wolves for their annual homecoming game Friday night and came away with a 21-7 victory.

The Chargers scored on their first drive of the game, scoring in under two minutes with junior running back Jaden Mason reaching the end zone on a 21-yard run.

Mason was also a threat in the passing game, finishing with 103 receiving yards on just three catches, one of those being a 70-yard reception out of the backfield to help put the game away in the fourth quarter.

“Every running back wants to get 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 52 yards every time they carry the ball, and the fact of the matter is we’ve done it since we’ve been here,” head coach Corbin Smith said. “We had a 1,600-yard rusher my first year two years ago in 10 games and it’s just like that, you’re chunking and chunking and chunking and then you split one off.”

Mason gained the majority of his yards through little chunks but he was consistent from beginning to end.

“We were chunking and getting four yards a carry and that’s what you want to do,” Smith said.

Mason finished with 71 rushing yards and was responsible for all three McClintock touchdowns. 

“We talk in practice about what’s your why? Why do you play this game? And I just do it for my parents. They risk everything for me to play this game,” Mason said. “I play for them and tonight it was also for my seniors in their last homecoming game.”

Early into the second quarter, the Wolves scored their only touchdown and the McClintock defense stepped up picking off senior quarterback Matt McCray twice. The first of those coming in the next drive from junior safety Ben Roberts.

“At that point in the game we were up 14-7 and they were driving on us and I got the interception to really turn things around for us,  leading to more defensive stops,” Roberts said. 

Senior cornerback Gavin Bell got the other interception late in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

“Our motto on defense is, ‘get off the field’. They got off the field except for the one,” Smith said.

Next Friday night Desert Mountain (1-5) will host Paradise Valley (5-0) and McClintock will host Notre Dame Preparatory (6-0).