beverlybubba

From what I understand, the coaches do feel they have a great group of kids. I've watched them practice a couple of times. They work hard and the enthusiasm is there. They believe they have the potential to go all the way and are willing to work hard to get there. In the words of Bear Bryant, "It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters."

Replacing Sutton will be the Royals biggest challenge. Gilbert, the Royals leading receiver, is back. Tyler Black was little used at tight end last year, but he's big and has good speed. If used properly, he'll give teams fits. There are other receivers with plenty of speed. If they can catch and learn the plays, passing game will be more lethal than last year. I'm not too worried about the passing game. The offensive line has solid returners. If the new center plays well, there will be joy in Mason County. Linebackers are in abundance with good speed and decent size. This team will be a lot like last year. Josh Harris running, catching and playing linebacker. Good passing, great at times. Both lines will be bigger than last year and probably just as good, or better.

Your just saying no one can disagree with you. Ram started this discussion but I guess think you can come in and hijack it and tell everyone what they're supposed to be talking about. Ram asked for our opinions about what is good enough. I gave mine which happens to be different than yours. Ram said in the beginning, "Used to, people would only criticize for not getting any attention, then they started criticizing for not getting D1 attention, now they criticize for getting "Large D1" attention. Where does it end? Sometimes I think we are the players' worst enemies."

They have three senior interior linemen I can think of to lead the way, Alex Newton, Matt Eades and Austin Berry. Newton is big, about 6' 3" and 280 at the moment, and he moves well. Eades and Berry are quite capable and motivated. Look for them on both sides of the ball but with offense being their forte.

What we're talking about in this thread are the questions posed by RAM "When is getting a college scholarship to play football good enough? When is being in the top tier of a sport good enough? When is just being "Good" good enough? " Perhaps you need clarification that with every comment I am referring to players that get college scholarships be it at D1-A, D1-AA, D3, NAIA, etc. because that is what I am talking about and what the thread is about. Not just the best but "good enough." Kids who work hard but only manage a scholarship less than D1-A scholarship are good enough in my book. Some choose to go less than D1-A. If my son has a choice between Yale and WKU, as dog daze poses, you better believe he'll go to Yale.

Staying healthy may be the largest part of having a good season. I see the offense being at least as good as last year and the defense being better. They have a bevy of returning linebackers. The defensive line should be improved also. I'd like to see them use all their offensive tools effectively. Tyler Black can help out a lot at tight end if they use him.

This is one parent that supports Coach B whole heartedly. He is Mason Co. football. He gets as much out of his talent as any coach I've seen and I've been watching football for 50 years.

Great minds think alike.

Josh Harris at Mason County is a good one (also plays running back). He has speed (set the school record with a 99 yard fumble return for a touchdown last year), hits hard, plus strength. 125 tackles last season, plus a 9.3 yard per carry rushing average. He'll probably play safety in college. OSU is looking at him now.

I answered the question in my first post. Read it.

Players aren't determined if "good enough" on percentages but on a case by case basis. Yes, it is most likely that players good enough to play D1 play D1, but using playing D1 as the ruler is a poor measure but looking at them on a case by case basis gives you a much more accurate evaluation.

Wrong. Choices are made for many reasons. Some players are content to ride the bench on a good team for the sake of being on a championship team or simply being able to say they played at a big time school. Others want to be in the game which may mean going to a lower level D1 school or D2, D3 or NAIA. Academics make a difference to some students. Three or four kids I know now who have college potential are all also honor students. Academics make a significant difference to them. Realizing that the NFL is mostly a pipe dream, they may pass up a big time football school for a big time academic school. I never played football at any level but 30 years ago I worked with a guy who had been a back up safety for the University of Tennessee. He was short and slow. I could have walked on and been better than him. Somehow he was "good enough" to get a scholarship to a major football school but wouldn't have been a stand out in intramurals. Maybe it was because his dad was a coach at a small college. Who knows? But, there are guys out there in D1 who aren't really "good enough."

I'll agree with those who say the kids who work hard to reach their potential are good enough. To play D1 you must have a near ideal combination of size, speed, agility, work ethic, etc. There are a few exceptions but not many. I know a couple of kids, one playing D3 and anther NAIA who could have played DI but don't because they wanted a different experience or other reasons. Any kid who works hard and gives his team everything he's got is good enough for me. The ones who play college at any level have something extra and still worked hard.

I feel Bond is the best passing quarterback that Mason County played against last year. But, in comparison, Mason's Pawsatt threw 11 for 15 for 187 yards and 3 TDs last years while Bond was 10 of 20 for 78 yards and 2 TDs. Thus, I continue my support of Pawsat. Bond showed ability last year and his coaches used him well. I expect them to give Mason a good game. Let's hope it's not raining like last year.

Mason County is stuck in the Neverland between northern Kentucky and eastern Kentucky. But, Neal Pawsat is a good one. Big, strong, smart and a cannon for an arm.

I hope not. A lot of railings don't seem sturdy enough. Also, I'm 6' 3" and often feel the railings on balconies aren't high enough for me. If you're 6' 8" the problem would be even worse.

Saw this on WLWT but they said nothing about "balcony jumping." Insane. My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Here's the link to the Atlanta Nike ESPN Rise combine results. http://rise.espn.go.com/football/articles/2010/03/18-atlanta-nike-results.aspx I downloaded the results to a spreadsheet and feel pretty sure I have the numbers correct. Ryan Smith should make a tremendous DT in college.

Those times would make him faster than anyone over 250 lbs at the ESPN Rise combine a few weeks ago. (?) I'm sure he's a good athlete and a legitimate prospect. Alex Newton, OL and DL - mostly OL last year, at Mason County is getting looks from several schools. (6' 3" 275 lbs and still growing, 5.58 40, 5.0 shuttle at Atlanta with electronic timing equipment, also a 35 foot power ball throw) He has an excellent combination of speed and quickness for a big guy (and intelligence). He's on the young side for his class. He'll be a senior next year and just turned 17 last week.

He'll have another great season next year. He looked good as usual in the B/W game, fast and strong. I was encouraged by what I saw on the line offensively and defensively. It looks like they have some players that will step in and fill the holes well. Receiving looked better than I expected also even though Jordan Gilbert wasn't playing because of baseball. These guys will be tough again next year.

Mason County is kind of in no man's land geographically but Josh Harris averaged 9.3 yards a carry for over 1300 yards as a sophomore last year. He had 19 rushing TD, 1 receiving and 3 on defense. He was in on 125 tackles from his linebacker position. Can you say "stud?"

The only thing that bothers me is the "You go, girl" attitude of some of the commenters. Blatant sexism. Obviously, few women have the experience to coach football. This woman looks like she might and as stated above, if the team, parents, etc are happy, then great. If it's a PC thing, then not so great. I'm a near 40 year fan of Pat Summit of Tennessee and have met her many times. She could coach men as well as any man coaches women or men.

Seven or eight years ago I tried refereeing and was in the BBA. It's a very tough job, didn't pay enough for the time it took (including travel and game time), travel expenses, and I wasn't any good at it so I quit. It did seem to very much be a good ole boy network, which probably favors keeping bad refs. Watching the video, the call was definitely blown. A replay system wouldn't be that hard to have at tournament games. Some schools pipe video into the lobbies/concession areas of the arenas already.

Yeah, you've even talked with me!! I found free parking three blocks away but the trip gets expensive real quick. $22 for tickets for my son and I, meals in between games, cost of gas, had to buy my daughter a shirt ($23 plus), etc. I only went on Saturday but my kids went during the week, my son can drive and my daughter went with her mom. I probably forked out $200-$300 or more overall. Cost is a factor. I'll say the unspoken, I believe a lot of fans, myself included, were surprised by Mason County's performance. With no dominating player and barely beating Clark in the regionals, getting to the semi-finals was a surprise. I sat in the upper deck because I like the extra leg room and space. It was good to watch these kids play. I've watched many of them plays since kindergarten days at the Boys and Girls Club. Great job, guys.

After watching SV beat my son's school, Mason County, I decided to stay and watch the finals. Boy, was I glad I did! SV played solid ball in every facet of the game, but they're shooting was superb. Congrats to the Wildcats.