Mason Ready to Stampede into Pennsylvania for Rare Saturday Football Game

Stephen Lubnow doesn’t know what college he’ll be playing football for next season.

The senior said he is looking forward to playing football on Saturdays in college, but before then, he’ll lead his 1-5 Mustangs into Pennsylvania for a game this weekend.

“I’m excited,” Lubnow said. “It’ll be a good team trip.”

The Mustangs will head into the “Keystone State” Saturday to take on Purchase Line High, about an hour east of Pittsburgh. Mason would have played Rappahannock High Friday but the school dropped its football program in August, said Mustang Head Coach Tom Horn. Horn, also the school’s athletic director, said he knew Rappahannock was going to drop their football program before the formal announcement was made and had already arranged the game in Pennsylvania. Horn said this isn’t Mason’s first trip into Pennsylvania for a football game. He said the Mustangs played in Fairfield, Pa. in 1999.

With some of their away games more than an hour away, Horn said his players are used to traveling to play games. Horn said the team will leave the school Saturday morning around 10 and head to Commodore, Pa. for their 6 p.m. kickoff.

“There are a number of things that need to be done,” Horn said. “We’re going a little further.”

Playing under the lights isn’t anything new to senior tight end and defensive lineman Dimitri Venets but this will be his first game outside Virginia. The first year varsity player said the game preparation and travel is what he thinks college teams go through on a weekly basis. As news traveled through the team in August that they would be traveling to Pennsylvania to play a team there, Venets said he was excited.

“I was like, ‘wow,’” Venets said. “I never heard of going out of state for a football game.”

Here is the Friday night schedule for other local teams. All games kickoff at 7:30 p.m.:

Wakefield High @ Falls Church High

Marshall High @ Stone Bridge High

Edison High @ JEB Stuart