beverlybubba

It's not the difference in classes as much as Mason lacks a lot on the line on both sides of the ball, plus a very young quarterback under a lot of pressure.

Years ago I worked at the L-I. I remember they posted UK's basketball schedule before they posted UK's football schedule the first year I worked. That told me a lot about priorities in Kentucky, or Maysville, at least.

One of the players told me yesterday that O'Mara will be starting. Mason led at half time 26-24 in the scrimmage, but ended up losing 40-26. They only played 3 quarters. There was a report here in BGP. Anyone who has a problem with the Ledger-Independent's lack of reporting should say something to them.

If Lafayette can do run and not fumble, they win. Two or more turnovers, they lose.

Ranked Rivals #9 in the country. They're that good.

I still think Mason Co is over rated. Just can't see them in the top 10. Lost too much, other teams will be able to key on Harris, unless the new QB turns out to be a prodigy.

that kids — as a general rule — don't spend much time playing outdoors the way they did a generation ago. Because of that, kids are not adequately acclimated to the heat when they report for practice in July. You never said this, but, I believe, you did say You nailed it with that, but the media and our culture will never outright accept that reasoning and many other harsh truths, either, unfortunately. This seems like blaming the kids to me, at least in an indirect way. I get so tired on people insinuating kids are wimps nowadays. It is unfair and distracts from solving the problem.

You guys go the whole nine yards trying to blame the victim, and with no solid facts to back it up. If the lives and habits of the kids are as you say they are, it seems that the adults in the situation would make adjustments accordingly. It certainly doesn't seem the case that the kids in Georgia were wimpy, couch potatoes. http://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school/dad-says-son-who-1068806.html My take is the increased competitiveness and emphasis in winning at any cost. Here's some reasons according to people who have actually researched the problem. http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/05/football-and-heat-whos-at-risk/?iref=allsearch Players are getting bigger. It’s getting hotter. Several studies have shown climate conditions are getting hotter and more humid. Morning practices, which are often scheduled so players can work out before the heat of the day, didn’t keep players from dying. The study found more than half of the deaths between 1980 and 2009 were during the morning. Higher humidity, which is common in the morning, is the likely reason. Researchers found “in 13 cases, news reports specifically noted that the death occurred within the first 3 days of practice” when players are less conditioned, and are more apt to be less accustomed to working out in the heat. An earlier study in Alabama found that “there were no environmental combinations at any time periods during the month of August for any locale in the state that would be considered safe for outdoors practice in full uniform” Got that? For that year in Alabama not a single day was suitable football practice with full pads. My sister lives in northern Alabama. During the summer, when you open the car door to get out, a blast of hot air hits you like opening a hot oven. I worked at a summer camp in Alabama 3 summers, no AC anywhere. I know what it's like. Brutally hot. When I was in high school, class of 1969, no football was played until September. There were fewer hot day practices. When I was in college, they didn't play until September. Now, KY high schools anyway, play two games in August which means more hot preseason practices. Dealing with the cold in November and December would be less deadly.

Wrong. Today's kids are bigger, stronger, faster. Try putting on enough insulation to keep you warm on a winter day, and then go out in a 100+ heat index and do something a lot more strenuous than throwing a tennis ball. A couple of weeks ago, my son and I hiked through parts of Red River Gorge with 40-50 lb packs on our backs. Didn't bother him much at all. I'm 60 years old and made it till the end but he did it in style. From what I've seen most of his teammates could have done it too. Why does every generation want to think they're tougher than the next one?

I think it makes a difference but not nearly as much as proper breaks, etc. I have my doubts that all coaches follow the guidelines as they should. I've heard stories of coaches seeking out the shadiest, coolest spot they can find to take the heat index reading. Last summer, at one of the senior day camps (Tennessee), my son and I felt they didn't take proper precautions. One of the coaches was pulling the "can you take it" macho stuff. We left half way through. (I'm a Tennessee alumni, B.A. and M.S. from there. I wouldn't let my son play for Dooley for anything. If UK can't beat UT while Dooley's there, they never will.)

My son has told me how much hotter wearing a helmet is. You're not just adsorbing heat from the sun, but the padding in the helmet acts as an insulator holding the body generated heat in.

I'm pretty much in agreement with spindoc. Can Harris and Black carry the load and will they have the blocking? Can they get the ball to Black enough for him to be a factor? They only return one starter on the offensive line. Freshman Jake O'Mara will probably be under center, but who will be center? Coach B has a challenge on his hands. I think top 10 is too high.

The word I've heard in incoming freshman, Jake Omara. Judging from this video from last year's basketball season, he has a strong and accurate arm.

They play a tough schedule. I wouldn't be surprised if they won their district, however. There is some good talent on this team. They just need to fill the holes.

That would be a surprise. They lost a lot of talent. Both tackles, a guard, center, quarterback, fullback and leading wide receiver on offense. (The fullback had the highest yards per carry average.) The defense lost several linebackers including the leading tackler per game, Carson Gray. (He missed the first two games due to illness and didn't have the most tackles for the season.) The safety, at least one cornerback and a defensive end are gone too. Some of those positions will be filled more easily than others. Several of those graduating seniors are among the best to ever play their positions at Mason County. Coach Buchanan is a good one, but he has a greater challenge in front of him than he's had for 5-6 years.

I'll agree with you (especially since you love O-line play ), but don't belittle "just catching the ball." Adjusting for and catching the ball while running full blast down field knowing you might get blasted the second your finger tips touch the ball is tough. I wish I had a nickel for every kid I've seen who had all the tools to be a great wide receiver except for hands of stone. Just catching the ball is pretty tough in itself. I'm sure there are plenty of coaches who wish they had someone who could "just catch the ball."

Somewhere on defense. I played a little defensive end. Not hard at all. Spring of my junior year in high school, the basketball coach told a bunch of us basketball players to go play football during spring practice to get toughter. (That was sort of joke in itself as we all played sandlot tackle football without pads frequently.) The football coach put us all on defense because it was easier to learn. One guy ended up being the starting running back and got an NAIA scholarship. Another guy became a starting DE and got a scholarship to the same school as the running back. If you count specialty players, punter, hands down.

A perfect combination for backyard practice.

"if they see a hit coming" - who has a better view of the field to see a hit coming than the QB? I rated QB as tough as Oline. They are totally interdependent. If the OLine doesn't do its job, the QB is running for his life. If the QB makes bad decisions, bad passes, etc, nothing the OLine can do will make a difference. Yes, the team is usually most dependent on the quarterback. (A great running back can change that.) But, the question is "What's the most difficult position to play in football?" Of course, they're all difficult. If we change the question to what position is most under-appreciated by fans? OLine wins hands down.

If by the "3" you mean Smith, Moore and Menke, no, none were there.

:thumb: The first person Paul Brown drafted for the Bengals was Bob Johnson, center. Tells you something about how he rated the importance of positions. Mason County had a solid offensive line the past 3 years or more. Not many blindside hits. Linemen (offensive and defensive) get hit nearly every play by at least one of the biggest, strongest guys on the field. Running backs take more shots than anybody and don't see many of them coming. As a linebacker, reading run or pass isn't always tough. Some teams don't throw much. Years back, Mason County played a team in the playoffs that had ONE completed pass coming into the game. Those linebackers didn't think about pass much. O-linemen play a chess game. Who am I supposed to block? Which side will he try to beat me on? Will the stunt and I need to pick up someone else? Is that linebacker going to blitz? Better listen, the QB might change the play. Can't move, or I get a penalty. Gotta make that first step just right. Etc, etc. On college and pro teams, overall the most intelligent players are O-linemen. There's a reason for that. Here's a link to NFL scores on the Wonderlic by position. Offensive tackles highest, center next, then QBs followed by offensive guards. http://benfry.com/writing/archives/147

I've seen plenty of cheap shots on O-linemen during games. One ended up in a broken leg. Another when the lineman was jogging down the field out of the play and a D-lineman literally knocked him for a flip (that one got flagged). Remember the guy Warren Sapp hit? Getting hit, taking hits doesn't necessarily make a position hard to play. O-line takes discipline, tremendous technique and strength. Pass blocking is much more difficult than it looks. Every position is tough. No doubt. I think running backs come closest to being "born, not made." My senior year, one of my classmates decided to play football and ended up being the starting halfback. He also ended up being 1st string all-state in Tennessee. Almost no experience, had played freshman ball, that's all. He was naturally fast, strong and could cut on a dime. Yes, he worked in practice, but he was the best player on the team the moment he stepped on the field just because he had the natural ability. This seems more common in running backs than any other position.

I'll go with this assessment with QBs being even with OLine.

I'll take your word on that one. I was watching the JV during that game. Logan's JV must be taller or as tall than their varsity. They matched up well with Mason and won by 1.

If I remember correctly the varsity won 7 of 10 and the JV split evenly or was 1 up. Pretty good for the shortest varsity at the camp (JV is just as tall as varsity for tallest and average height).