It’s never easy following a successful quarterback and for Shay Stone being the next in line at John Hardin was most definitely not.
Quarterback is one of the toughest positions on the field (if not of all team sports) because it requires an ability to make so many important decisions on the fly. It’s also one that garners the most blame (sometimes unwarranted), so when junior Shay Stone took the responsibility of following Alex Dingle, Eli Mitchell and Patrick Anderson under center, he probably knew what to expect. These were guys who had taken the John Hardin Bulldog football team to unbeaten regular seasons (5) including Region Final and State appearances.
What he didn’t know was how difficult it would be in his first season as a starter and the problems that came with it. 2014 was a different season than in the past as the Defense had been wrecked by graduation and head coach Chad Lewis’ retooled “D” suffered some injuries which made stopping the run a task in itself. With opposing teams taking quick advantage of that as the Bulldogs got off to an uncharacteristic 0-4 start for the first time in their history.
His first start was against Seneca and it was a game that was originally set to be played Friday night, but weather changed that and it was finally played on a Monday night and the young quarterback was a bit nervous. “There was a little bit of pressure on my shoulders, but after halftime I started to get a hold of it and began to feel really comfortable with the pressure.” It was a game which the Bulldogs eventually lost 24-19, but Stone’s 168-yards passing and two touchdowns kept them close.
The following week against Central Hardin, the defense’s problems had just began as the Bruins became the second team to take advantage of their rush defense and the Bulldogs were unable to make the difference in their first EVER loss to the Central Hardin, 45-12.
With John Hardin playing catch up, the offense didn’t seem quite as effective as they were outscored 145-63 as the opposition delighted in the Bulldogs misery. During that time and as expected the blame was evenly distributed even filtering down to the young quarterback. The junior passer didn’t have terrible stats, but they weren’t earth shattering either. Stone never lost confidence that things would eventually turn around thanks to the positive influence of the coaching staff and the continued improving performance of the defense that began to get healthy. “With any team starting 0-4 it would be hard to come back from, but our team stuck together. We had lost a lot of our D-Line, Linebackers and secondary, but we have a bunch of great guys and we were able to hold things together in the long run.”
The Bulldogs got their first win of the season over a stubborn PRP team (47-28) and although he only attempted 6-passes, he completed four for 106-yards and 2-TDs. Perhaps his biggest game was against Grayson County in an important District game and Stone was 10-of 22 for 201-yards and 1-TD in an important win. John Hardin would finish the regular season winning four of their last six and made a run during the playoffs finally losing against Graves County in the Regional Finals, 28-23. During that time, the Bulldogs scored over 30-points several times and Stone admitted that things were slowing down for him as usually happens when a quarterback begins to learn his trade and read his progressions.
This season, Stone is a year older and wiser and during 7-on-7 passing competitions, he looked sharp and felt stronger while having a nice touch on deep passes and he is quick to admit that the ball seems to leave his hand quicker although he would like to work on his short game a bit. “I couldn’t wait to get back out on the practice field. In fact, I was out there before everyone had even started this year.”
Also, the Bulldogs move down to 4-A instead of 5-A and are in a new District which features teams like Western, Breckenridge County and Valley. A far cry from dealing with North Hardin and Grayson County in the old District, but that didn’t deter the Bulldogs from playing a difficult schedule when their first six games were against South Warren, North Hardin, Warren Central, PRP, Central Hardin and then Meade County.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, which is a product of their murderous schedule, but Stone has played well during that time completing 41-of-90 passes for 696-yards and 8-TDs and has helped keep John Hardin competitive as the playoffs approach.
Stone has admitted that he likes studying Great White Sharks and loves to watch “Shark Week” on the Animal Channel and would like to actually see one in person as a personal desire. Maybe spend time in a shark cage to study them.
Somehow facing a man eater in the ocean might seem a bit tame when compared to facing furious Trojans, Bruins and the Green Wave during a season in which he shows everyone that the “Next in Line” can really handle the pressure.
