MASON — Mason football coach Brian Castner preached that he’s keen on classroom ethics. That’s especially been the case heading into the 2024 season.
And there’s a good reason behind all that.
“It sets our bar, our standard pretty high as a program,” said Castner, who enters his 15th season at Mason. “As a staff, and I have a great staff, we really hammer down on grades, and we’re trying to find out how this team is going to come together on dealing with certain things like that.”
On top of the accountability, the way Mason’s football program chooses team captains runs through a process — an application process.
“Our standard is still our standard,” Castner said. “But there’s adjustment on trying to figure out how important it is to this team. Team 63 can be pretty good if they want to. They can be pretty good. But they’ve got to figure out how to come together. They’ve got to figure out how to play harder for the person next to themselves.”
Mason is coming off back-to-back Sweet 16 finishes. The Comets went 7-6 last season using a stout defense before getting knocked out by Moeller 38-3 in a Division I regional semifinal.
“I’d like to believe that we can build off these last two years,” Castner said. “That’s a tough pill to swallow back-to-back years. I’d like to think that we can put ourselves into position again Week 10, 11, 12 to get back in that spot and be a little more ready for that game.”
Senior wide receiver Branden Dunn returns as one of the team captains. He caught seven balls for 105 yards and a touchdown as a junior.
Senior Caden Ashhurst saw plenty of playing time at quarterback last season and will look to lead the offense under center.
Senior Temilade Adesanya was the team’s third-leading rusher a year ago with 284 yards, but he scored a team-high five touchdowns on the ground.
“Offensively, we’re going to really try and form our brand with what we want to do and be consistent with the players,” Castner said. “The players have to want it. The players have to walk the walk that we’re talking to them. They’ve got to ooze with that confidence that this offense is going to roll.”
Senior Preston Estoesta is back in the defensive secondary after wrapping up 47 tackles and grabbing two interceptions.
“When you say fingerprint, I think we’re going to continue to play really good defense,” Castner said. “We played really good defense last year. Probably the best ever. We broke records for us, and we were at the top of the (Greater Miami Conference) multiple times. The year prior, we were the same way.
“But we’ve got to find a couple more leaders. We’ve got to find a kid to step up and be the face of this team.”
Mason opens the 2024 campaign at Gahanna Lincoln on Aug. 23.
“You’re going to see a group of good young men — a lot of them because our numbers are really good right now,” Castner said. “You’re going to see a team that comes together and plays disciplined football.
“We’re all going to look the same. We’re not going to wear different colored shoes. We all wear black shoes. We dye them together. No extra bells and whistles. Helmets are the same. We’re one. That always gets questioned by a couple players, but you’re going to see a discipline, unified group.”
