​Aaron Champagne, center, of Masuk celebrates after scoring against North Haven in Monroe on September 17, 2026. (Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media)
SOUTHBURY – Masuk quarterback Aaron Champagne took the snap, then put his knee to the turf as the clock wound down on Friday night. The No. 10 Panthers had just knocked off No. 8 Pomperaug in a wild back-and-forth high school football game 42-37 to improve to 6-0.Champagne was the hero, scoring the game-winning, 2-yard touchdown run with 3:06 left one play after his huge pass set up the score. He finished with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.As the Masuk players celebrated, Champagne turned to the Pomperaug defense, congratulated them on a good game, and turned to his team. Before he could reach them, Champagne was met by his coach. Chris Pace ran up to his quarterback and pulled him in for a hug. A sense of relief was visible at the two embraced.
Aaron Champagne helped Masuk win the state title in 2024 and then last year the Panthers finished 5-5 and missed the playoffs. This season, the senior is back playing at a high level, throwing for 1,628 yards and 18 touchdowns so far this season. He has added 548 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and he has No. 7 Masuk playing as the team to beat in Class M #cthsfb #connecticut #highschoolfootball (Pete Paguaga/Hearst Connecticut Media)
The two have been paired together since Pace took over the program shortly after Champagne helped lead the Panthers to the Class MM title in 2024. Their first season together did not go how they had hoped.Masuk stumbled to a 5-5 record and did not make the state playoffs.The win over Pomperaug was not just the Panthers’ sixth win of the season, but arguably the biggest win during the Pace/Champagne era.”It was awesome to embrace him,” Pace said. “He is our leader out there, I sound like a broken record, but that’s everything I knew he could do before I took over the program.”The win solidifies Masuk as the team to beat in Class M.”The expectations and the standards here are high and that was a challenge I wanted to step into,” said Pace, who replaced Steve Christy.During that 2024 state championship run, Champagne had a huge sophomore season, throwing for 2,580 yards and 33 touchdowns.With Champagne back for his junior season and Pace and his .667 career win percentage (62-31) at Weston, Bullard-Havens and ATI the expectations were sky high for the Panthers.The Panthers won their first game, before losing three of their next four games. The state title defense was over before the midseason.They finished 5-5 as Champagne struggled, throwing for 1,511 yards and 11 touchdowns.”It was definitely tough for everyone,” Champagne said. “The team, the coaches, the town. We didn’t expect to be 5-5, it’s not where we wanted to be at all, it’s never where we wanted to be.”This year, we wouldn’t let that happen again,” he added. “We want to be in the playoffs. We’re going to make a run for it.”Both Cha