Mason Woods: Leaving a Legacy at Gosnell By: Ryan Fletcher
Mason Woods’ football journey hasn’ t always been easy, but his experience at Gosnell has helped him become the player and leader he is today. After spending his ninth and 10th grade years at Bryant, where he saw limited playing time, Woods transferred to Gosnell and found an opportunity to make an impact. During his sophomore season, he got the chance to play in one game, earned Player of the Week honors, and was part of a team that won a conference championship. Still, Woods feels like there is one accomplishment missing from his football career.“ I feel like the only thing I’ m missing is a state championship of my own that I actually get to play for,” claimed Woods.
Now entering his senior season, Woods is focused on finishing his Gosnell career the right way. After being named an All- State running back and helping the Pirates win a conference championship, his goals are bigger than individual awards.“ I want to finish strong, help my team win another conference championship, win a state championship title, and leave Gosnell knowing I gave everything I had,” Woods said.
As a running back, Woods understands that his role goes beyond making plays. He believes the position has to set the tone for the entire team.“ To keep the energy high, the RB has to set the tone,” he said.“ I fill the gap by keeping the young guys motivated and pushing them every day. In due time, they’ ll develop a winner’ s mindset.”
His All-State selection was a major milestone, but Woods remains focused on team success.“ Being named All-State was a huge honor for me. It showed me that all the work I put in during the season was recognized,” he said.“ I’ m grateful for my teammates and coaches because I couldn’ t have received that award without them. Of course, I would love to earn All-State honors again, but my main focus is helping my team win.”
That team-first mentality helped Gosnell put together an undefeated regular season and win a conference championship last year.“ It was an amazing experience,” Woods said.“ Going undefeated in the regular season and winning the conference showed us what we could accomplish when we played together and stayed focused.”
While Gosnell went undefeated in regular season play, they suffered a tough first round loss to Warren in a shootout. With that being said, the Pirates know the expectations are even higher this season.“ We know everyone is going to come after us this year, but we’ re not ducking nobody.” The loss to Warren last season also gave Gosnell valuable experience heading into another championship run.“ The Warren game definitely gave everyone an experience that was needed,” Woods said.“ Now every team we play, we’ ll have that chip on our shoulder, which will definitely take us farther than last year.”