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Boyle County graduate Rees MacShara rushed for 1,013 yards for Morehead State this season, becoming the first Morehead player to rush for 1,000 yards since 2000 and earning all-Pioneer Football League first team honors. (Morehead State University / December 14, 2012) |
Even after the season got started, there was no way to predict that it would end so well for Rees MacShara.
MacShara said he thought he was capable of having a big year at Morehead State, but the Boyle County graduate’s rushing numbers in his first three games weren’t very big at all.
The numbers looked pretty impressive by season’s end, however, as the sophomore ran for more than 1,000 yards and was named to the all-Pioneer Football League first team.
It was the kind of year he said he was hoping for after a solid spring practice season.
“This spring I¿had a really good spring, I made a lot of improvements from the year before,” MacShara said. “Based on what I did in the spring, I thought I had the potential to get it together to have a breakout year here.”
MacShara broke out in Morehead’s fourth game, rushing for 132 yards and a touchdown in a loss at Drake that was the first of his six 100-yard games.
He went on to rush for 1,013 yards, becoming the Eagles’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2000 and finishing second in the PFL with 92.1 yards per game
“It’s pretty special to me,” he said. “I knew once we started incorporating the running game into our offense, I knew I’d have a shot at it. Coming into the last game, I needed about 200 yards, and the coaches let me go after it. It was real exciting for me.”
MacShara ran 25 times for 211 yards — both career highs — in Morehead’s season-ending win over Valparaiso.
He said he was able to improve as the season wore on because he is stronger than ever before. He entered the season at 185 pounds and finished at about 180.
“The previous spring was our first year with our new strength coach, and he does a good job,” MacShara said. “I put on some weight and maintained that through the summer, and when I came out I felt like I was physically ready to play. It was a big help, especially with some of the hits that I took on carries later on in the season.”
Morehead took some hits during the season as well, losing seven of their 11 games. That led to the firing of longtime coach Matt Ballard, who was replaced Thursday by offensive coordinator and running backs coach Rob Tenyer.
That was welcome news for MacShara, who said he had “no idea” who the school would choose as its new coach.
“I’m really excited about that,”¿he said. “Since I’ve been here, I feel like I’ve grown pretty close to him. I feel like he knows what we need to win and what it takes to get the job done.
“A lot of the offensive guys know him real well. We’re not going to make a lot of changes in our system, and it’ll be really good for us offensively.”
MacShara said he knew former Boyle coach and Kentucky assistant Chuck Smith was also a candidate, and although he didn’t play for Smith at Boyle, some of his teammates wanted to know what he knew about Smith.
“I had a couple of questions about him. People were asking me who this guy from UK was,” MacShara said.
But MacShara said he’s happy that Tenyer is staying in the fold.
“I’m really excited with coach Tenyer in here,” he said. “He’s going to push me, and I’m going to continue to make big improvements, hopefully, as long as I¿stay committed, and I’m sure I’ll be able to do that.”
MacShara finished his season with 1,320 all-purpose yards. In addition to his rushing totals, he caught 39 passes for 307 yards, and he had six rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown.
Still, he said he was caught off guard by his all-conference honor.
“It was a little surprising,” he said.
He hopes to be taking handoff and catching passes next season from former Boyle teammate Boone Goldsmith, who threw for 399 yards as the backup quarterback behind record-setter Zack Lewis this season and who will probably be No. 1 on the depth chart going into next spring.
“He learned a lot from Zack, and I think it’s really prepared him to have a good year next year,” MacShara said.
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2012 rushing and receiving totals for Morehead State running back Rees MacShara:
Rushing Receiving
Date Opponent No. Yds TD No. Yds TD
Aug. 30 Southern Virginia 11 53 0 4 24 1
Sept. 8 Eastern Kentucky 4 3 0 4 29 0
Sept. 15 St. Francis (Pa.) 9 45 0 4 30 0
Sept. 22 Drake 20 132 1 3 16 0
Oct. 6 Jacksonville 10 40 0 4 43 0
Oct. 13 Dayton 16 103 1 7 32 0
Oct. 20 Butler 16 116 0 8 85 0
Oct. 27 Campbell 17 110 1 1 15 0
Nov. 3 Davidson 23 126 2 0 0 0
Nov. 10 San Diego 22 74 1 1 13 0
Nov. 17 Valparaiso 25 211 0 3 20 0
Totals 173 1023 6 39 307 1
