Perry ? When Mike Berg walks into the paddock, everybody knows which horse he’ll lead out.

Berg, Baldwin High’s football coach, makes no secret about throwing a saddle on Micah Mason, the Bulldogs’ 6-foot, 200-pound junior running back.

“He’s our go-to guy,” Berg said. “People know that, but we’re going to keep going to him.”

Mason carried the ball 33 times, gained 289 yards and scored three touchdowns as Baldwin clipped Perry-Lecompton, 28-13, on Thursday.

Mason scored on runs of 63, 50 and 3 yards, helping the Bulldogs (6-3) clinch a berth in the Class 4A state playoffs.

But the one Baldwin touchdown Mason didn’t score broke the Kaws’ backs.

Baldwin was nursing a 7-0 lead with seconds remaining in the first half when Andy Hannon scooped up a punt at the Baldwin 25, then scampered 75 yards to the end zone. When Hannon’s gallop ended, the clock showed goose eggs.

“That was huge,” Perry-Lecompton coach Mike Paramore said. “That was a big momentum swing for them. That hurt us.”

It was Hannon’s second punt return for a TD this season.

“That punt return,” Berg said, “was something special.”

Until Hannon’s scamper, the Bulldogs hadn’t done much except for Mason’s 50-yard touchdown run at the 6:43 mark of the second quarter.

No doubt the Bulldogs had been affected when Brian Lauridsen, a senior fullback/linebacker, went down because of a knee injury with 4:03 showing in the first quarter.

“He’s one of our leaders,” Berg said. “He’s just a great kid. Yeah, we were kind of deflated a little bit.”

Lauridsen is scheduled to undergo tests today to determine the severity of the injury.

Baldwin finally broke the scoring ice following a Perry-Lecompton gaffe. Justin Goff punted after the Bulldogs stalled at their own 35. However, the Kaws were flagged for roughing the kicker and Baldwin had new life at midfield.

On the first play, Mason broke off left tackle and raced all the way into the end zone. In the fourth quarter, after Perry-Lecompton had pulled within eight points at 21-13, Mason broke his 63-yard TD run, somehow maintaining his balance after being hit by the Kaws’ Mitch McPherson at about the P-L 25.

“I get all the glory, but it’s the guys who block in the trenches who deserve the credit,” Mason said.

Mason outperformed Perry-Lecompton tailback Noah Rees, a senior who settled for 73 yards in 19 carries in his last high school game. Rees broke a 20-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, but it was his only carry of double-digit yardage all night.

Baldwin sophomore cornerback Ricky Baker intercepted P-L quarterback Adam Painter twice, and senior Ryne Jackson had one INT. Drew Tucker had a pass theft for the Kaws (3-6).

Baldwin 28, Perry-Lecompton 13

Baldwin 0 14 7 7 Â 28

Perry-Lecompton 0 0 7 6 Â 13

B Â Micah Mason 50 run (Justin Goff kick)

B Â Andy Hannon 75 punt return (Goff kick)

P-L Â Paul Foltz 12 pass from Adam Painter (Foltz kick)

B Â Mason 3 run (Goff kick)

P-L Â Noah Rees 20 run (Painter pass failed)

B Â Mason 63 run (Goff kick)