Document text
Austin Mason (No. 18) brings down a North Medford running back in 1998 game - just one tackle on the road to state title. Ashland Daily Tidings/Denise Baratta Mason walks away from football By Larry Berteau Ashland Daily Tidings It was a heavy price to pay for Austin Mason, but he would do it all over again. Mason, a 1999 Ashland High graduate, had a senior year full of marvelous memories and serious setbacks. The results: one state football championship, a first-team All-State selection, an athletic scholarship to Weber State, several concussions, and, ultimately, a loss of the scholarship. "I probably had six (concussions)," Mason said. "It's hard to tell. But they took a toll. It wasn't an easy decision, but I had to make it. No more football for me. No more scholarship." The final blow came last summer in the Oregon Bowl. The annual All-Star game is a final hurrah for the elite of Oregon prep football players. Mason was one of those. He was named first team defense, and second team offense on the Class 4A All-Star team. He started at wide receiver for the South in the glitzy, all-star affair. Just before halftime, Mason was enjoying one of his best games. He had six catches for 103 yards, most coming off the wing of Ashland High teammate and quarterback Jimmy Werbin. Then it happened. No. 6. "We were running a sweep and I went helmet-to-helmet with a guy," Mason recalled. "It was a crack-back block, and the crazy thing was, it wasn't even a solid hit." But Mason was through. If he didn't know it right then, the next few days would convince him. "The thing about concussions is, they are cumulative," he said. "Once you've had one, you're prone to another. By the Oregon Bowl game I was totally worn down. I was vulnerable." Prior to his final game, Mason had attended summer football camps, endured preseason drills, played through a grueling 14-game season, all in one year. "It was five months of football," Mason said. "From mid-summer to December, playing both sides of the ball, no breaks, and I took a lot of hits in the heat of battle." Previously, the 6-2, 195-pound athlete had recovered quickly from the hits. "My vision would be affected for a while, and I'd be a little goofy," he said. "One time, after a hit, I couldn't remember the play after the huddle, and all I'd done was jog up to the line of scrimmage. "But they went away after a few hours, or at least after I'd slept through the night after the game." The Oregon Bowl concussion proved different. Mason stayed with his family in Portland for four days after the game, and the hit. "I had PCS (post-concussion syndrome) in a big way," Mason said. "Things were blurry, my motor movements were screwed up, and my thoughts weren't all there." After a week he returned to Ashland. "It was kind of scary," Mason said, remembering back, turning uncomfortably in his chair. "I kept waiting for reality. It was like I was dreaming. Nothing was real." After getting medical care, the doctors told Mason that a person can stay in PCS the rest of his life. They advised him not to play. Ever. "It was a tough decision," he said. "Obviously, I wasn't interested in spending my life as a vegetable. On the other hand, I had eight years invested in football, in the (Ashland) program, and a chance to fulfill a dream - play college ball." Aust in Mason But the fact the last concussion - the most serious of the bunch - had come from such a minor hit, finally sealed the deal. "It took me over a month," Mason said. "Life is full of chances. I took a chance driving my car today. I weighed all the options, over and over." But the scales were tipped. He notified Weber State. This fall, he enrolled at the University of Oregon. Like the 50,000 other fans at Autzen Stadium, he watches football games from the stands. "It's tough to watch," he said. "There will always be a lot of `what if's'. But I have to say, it's good to be away from it." Despite the pounding, despite the scary moments, the PCS, the grid warrior has no regrets. "It was definitely the best time of my life (Ashland High football). It was a blast. We won a state championship, and I went through something with a team that few guys get a chance at. I will always have 42 great friends." Besides his all-state credentials, Mason was selected to the first-team All-Southern Oregon Conference squad as an end on both the offensive and defensive units in '98. He was the Grizzlies' third leading tackler on defense, and caught 21 passes for 346 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season. Mason still works out every day, running, lifting, unable and unwilling to shake the regimen instilled in him by the Ashland football program. "It beats sitting around the dorm eating chips," he said flatly. And it doesn't hurt having escaped with all his faculties still intact. "I'd do it again," Mason said. Then he squirmed again in his chair. "I would." NEW Click here to visit the Daily Tidings archives. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Western Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Corvallis Gazette-Times | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | | Ashland Daily Tidings | Gresham Outlook | Springfield News | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Lee Northwest Publishing