Just a sophomore, Hoose loved his school and his teammates, but he wanted to challenge himself at another level — both on the field and in the classroom.

“I thought it would help me a lot for my future. It didn’t have anything to do with me not liking Southwestern,” Hoose said last week by phone. “I like Southwestern, I just wanted to do what was best for me and my future. My parents gave me that opportunity, so I took it.”

With the full support of his parents, Hoose and his father Joe visited Canisius High School’s Delaware Avenue campus in Buffalo and immediately felt it was where the soon-to-be junior belonged.

“Canisius just had a really good record the past few years from a football standpoint. Academically we knew they were a really good choice,” Hoose said. “I just thought it was in my best interest academically and athletically.”

Mason Hoose has been in on 119 tackles, including 34 for loss, as an outside linebacker/defensive end for Canisius High School. P-J photo by Tim Frank

After a meeting with football coach Rich Robbins, Hoose was on his way to enrolling for the fall 2015 semester and joining the Crusaders on the gridiron.

“I just met with the young man. He’s a pretty impressive-looking kid. He passed the eyeball test for sure,” Canisius sixth-year head coach Rich Robbins said Monday evening. “He looked me right in my eye and shook my hand. You could tell he was just a solid young man. He’s very muscular and looks the part so we were excited about an opportunity to have him come play for us.”

The football team was coming off one the greatest seasons in school history, finishing the 2014 season undefeated at 12-0, outscoring opponents 419-113. Along the way, the Crusaders beat eventual Class AA state champion Jamestown; Walsh Jesuit of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; Bishop Watterson of Columbus, Ohio; and Cardinal Mooney of Youngstown, Ohio before topping Archbishop Stepinac of White Plains in the state private school title game.

“We don’t often know a lot about kids from down that far in the Southern Tier,” Robbins said. ”They were looking for an option with Coach (Jay) Sirianni leaving. They wanted to get up to a school that would get Mason (an) … upper-level schedule to kind of showcase himself against some out-of-state opponents and Catholic-league schools.”

NEW JUNIOR HITS CAMPUS

P-J photo by Tim Frank

But 2015 brought a new Canisius team. All but two starters from the 2014 team that received national recognition were gone. Opportunities were available for a new crop of Crusaders and Hoose took advantage.

As a junior newcomer to the program, Hoose began to showcase his talents. He was in on nine tackles and picked up two sacks in a 64-34 Week 5 win over St. Francis and followed that up three weeks later with 10 tackles, including four for a loss, and a sack in a 28-0 victory over Timon-St. Jude.

“Last year we were very young. We had to use Mason in some spots because he’s so strong and physical. … He didn’t necessarily get to play his ideal positions for us last year. He’s the ultimate team guy and did what we asked him to do,” Robbins said. “He worked on his speed and quickness and is playing more of an outside linebacker, speed rusher. He’s certainly made the most out of that, being over 100 tackles with all the sacks, forced fumbles and tackles for a loss.”

All told, Hoose tallied 62 tackles, including 13 for a loss, and eight sacks on the season while rushing for five touchdowns from his fullback position.

“The game is a lot faster than it was, and it’s a lot more complex. I have a really good time, it’s fun,” Hoose said. “It helps me test myself better than I would if I was playing smaller schools that get less respect.”

It turns out his junior season was just a sampling of what was to come.

RAMPING UP FOR SENIOR YEAR

After a dedicated offseason, Hoose has turned into one of the Crusaders’ top players this fall. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound outside linebacker/defensive end has been in on 119 tackles, including 34 for a loss.

Earlier this season against Cardinal Mooney, Hoose was in on 21 tackles, including three for a loss, and a sack to go along with a rushing touchdown in a Crusaders’ 31-14 win. That performance was memorable for both player and coach.

“Nothing is more impressive than the 21 tackles he had against Cardinal Mooney,” Robbins said. “That was a pretty fantastic afternoon he had.”

“I was really just focused in on that game. They ran the ball a lot and I just focused on stopping the run. That’s how I ended up with so many tackles,” Hoose added. “Going to Cardinal Mooney and Cathedral Prep is an eye-opener. When you are playing kids that have full rides to Ohio State and stuff like that, it helps you get a lot better, too.”

In Week 8 of this season, Canisius run toward a perfect season came to an end on a muddy field at Bishop Timon-St. Jude, 7-0. One week later, the Crusaders ran into Pennsylvania powerhouse Cathedral Prep on Senior Night and fell, 28-24. Armed with a bye week to save its season, Canisius opened the Monsignor Martin Association playoffs with a 42-14 victory in a rematch with Timon.

“Nobody ever pushed the panic button. The first game we lost was in an absolute mud pit. We used it as motivation. … The next week we went out and lost to Erie Prep. They’re always very, very good. They are an undefeated team, we went out there for our fifth away game in a row, on their Senior Night, and lost by four points,” Robbins said. “Even though there’s never a good loss, our kids drew a lot of confidence from that. Their commitment and focus since the Timon loss really ratcheted up. They’ve been a focused group and they’re on a mission to make sure we win the championship this year.”

Last Thursday night, Hoose’s decision was validated as the Crusaders won the Monsignor Martin Association championship with a 31-20 win over St. Francis at New Era Field. Hoose was in on 15 tackles, including two for a loss, and also ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the victory.

“We knew it was win or go home. We’d been working since the day after we lost to St. Francis last year and we weren’t going to let it end,” Hoose added. “Everybody was in agreement on that and we still are.”

Canisius’ season will likely end Dec. 3 against Archbishop Stepinac or Cardinal Hayes. The game against the eventual New York City-area champion may be moved to Dec. 4 due to SAT testing.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

When Hoose’s season does come to an end, he will have some decisions to make.

Also a standout on the wrestling mat, Hoose has received interest from Division I and II colleges with scholarship money on the table.

“He’s played a lot of positions. A lot of the Division I schools are trying to figure out where he fits for them. We’ve had interest … with some full scholarship offers from some Division II schools. He’s getting really close with the Division I AA schools,” Robbins said. “Recruiting will definitely pick up here in the next month or so. The thing about Mason is that he’s a state-championship caliber wrestler, too, so there might be some opportunities for him in that sport, too. There’s definitely a lot of interest out there.”

It’s exactly the options Hoose and his family envisioned and hoped for when he made the difficult decision to leave Southwestern just two short years ago.

“Once I got to know him … I loved him right when I first met him, just his intensity and the way he carried himself. He had a mission to better himself and better his situation from a football and wrestling standpoint,” Robbins said. “Once we got him in and we saw his work ethic, how he practiced and how he got after his business, we had some pretty good expectations for him coming into his senior year. He was going to be a dominant defensive player for us this year. He’s been every bit of that.”