Special night for Masters family

Sunday, July 17, 2016
Rick, Joe and Adam Masters (from left) have all competed in the Indiana Football Coaches Association All-Star Game.

Final son completes All-Star Game trifecta

INDIANAPOLIS -- Thousands of players have competed in the 50-year history of the Indiana Football Coaches Association All-Star game, many of whom who went on to have successful collegiate careers and some to even make their marks at the professional level.

Not many have done what the Masters family has done, however. In a likely unprecedented set of circumstances, recent South Putnam graduate Joe Masters became the third member of his family to take part in the game on Friday night at North Central High School in Indianapolis.

Joe Masters takes a water break during Friday night's IFCA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

Older brother Adam competed in the game in 2010, and their father (Rick) played in the 1984 contest after leading Bishop Chatard High School of Indianapolis to a state title that year.

Rick Masters, who received a full-ride scholarship from legendary coach Bo Schembechler to play for Michigan after graduation, said the special nature of his family's involvement didn't really hit him until he was contacted to be honored as past participant in the game.

"It was pretty amazing when it suddenly dawned me on me that I'm probably the only guy here who has a son playing in the game, had a son to already play in the game and I played in the game myself," he said. "That's pretty rare air, and I'm a really proud dad to have two boys who followed so closely in my footsteps."

Adam Masters agrees with his father on the special nature of the situation.

"It's cool," said Masters, who played at Indiana State from 2011-13 and now works in Carmel as a recruiter for Profile Tracker. "Not many people can say that. My dad is the only one that's won it, though, so he's got that going for him."

Joe Masters is proud to have continued the family tradition.

"For all three of us to be able to say we participated in this game is great," he said. "Nobody was just given this opportunity, though, and all of us earned it."

Eagle head coach Nathan Aker echoed the family's sentiments on the special nature of the accomplishment, and feels such things help to keep the South Putnam program successful.

"For this to happen in the 50th year of the game, when they're honoring all the guys who have played in it, that's just a tremendous thing for their family," said Aker, noting that Masters is the 15th player from South Putnam since 1984 to have been selected for the game. "We have a great list of guys who have been here before. It's a credit to the tradition that our program has developed, starting with Mark Wildman, and the work ethic it takes to live up to that."

The game itself

The North team kicked a field goal on the last play of the first half for the only points of the first three quarters, and Masters and the South team took their only lead of the game a minute into the fourth quarter.

Southport's Luke Johnston connected with Greg Miller of Hamilton Southeastern on a 38-yard TD pass, something that Masters will likely see often over the next few years -- as that combo will join him this fall as new members of the NAIA defending champion Marian Knights.

The North team regained the lead for good two minutes later, as Kokomo's Isaac James -- the game's MVP -- caught a screen pass from Plymouth's Jack Barron for an 18-yard TD.

Joe Masters thought he had a "decent" game.

"You can always do better than what you did," he said. "The game is set up for offense, and we can't slant in our techniques or blitz. For the score to be 10-7 at the end, that shows there were some phenomenal players on both sides of the ball.

Adam Masters was more complimentary of his brother's play.

Joe Masters gets ready to make a tackle during Friday night's IFCA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

"I think he did great," Masters said. "He got in the backfield, had a couple of pressures and a big sack. I was excited and proud of what he did."

Rick Masters was not surprised the game was a low-scoring affair.

"When you have only got a week of practice to put these teams together, anybody who has coached football knows the defense comes together before the offense," he said. "It's easier to play, not as intricate, in a lot of these all-star games they seem to be defensive battles.

"Most of the scoring took place in the last quarter and that's common too as the offenses figure things out."

The players spent the week together at the University of Indianapolis, and lived out any football player's dream scenario.

"We would wake up at 6, go to bed at 11 and it was football all day all night," Joe Masters said. "The game was awesome. Being around these guys and building camaraderie with them was awesome."

Masters, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 260 pounds, said the bond that developed in such a short window of time was amazing.

"You have a week to spend with these guys, and they become your brothers," he said. "They would do anything for you. It would be awesome to get to play more games with these guys."

He feels just being around so many outstanding players made him a better player himself.

"It's the Indiana All-Star Game," he said. "The top of the top from everywhere in the state. To be able to play with those guys brings you up to another level. Any time you can do that is a great thing."

Familiar duds

Masters and his South teammates were clad with white jerseys and royal blue pants, trimmed in red, with the word "South" on the chest -- eerily similar to the uniform he wore in helping the Eagles to a 32-14 record during his four-year career.

That career was highlighted by a sectional championship in Masters' sophomore year.

Joe Masters (56) shows teammates where to go before a play in Friday night's IFCA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

Aker knows that replacing Masters with one individual player will be next to impossible, but hopes his successes and past association can help the Eagles this fall and beyond.

"Joe one of the best of the best that we've ever had at South Putnam," Aker said. "The amount of time and effort he's put in over last four years, and even before that, has really paid off."

Aker noted that Joe would work out with the high school team as a junior high student during Adam's career and that added experience has proven incredibly valuable.

"He's always the first one in the weight room, and has been getting after it all year," Aker said. "He had set big goals for himself to get a scholarship and he achieved that.

"He's a tremendous asset to our program."

Aker took over from Troy Burgess as head coach for Masters' junior season, and saw something rare happen immediately.

"Being named a captain as a junior was a tremendous honor for him," Aker said. "In my playing and coaching days, we've never had a junior as a captain. It was great to see his talent recognized by being voted all-state."

Early influence

Rick Masters coached his sons in youth football for "about 14-15 years," from when they started in kindergarten through their middle schools years.

"I had a lot of fun, and I kind of miss having that camaraderie and spending that much time with them."

Masters was able to pass along knowledge from his own career, although his Michigan experience ended earlier than he hoped.

"I blew my knee out in my first season and didn't finish," he said. "I have some good memories from Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh was a senior quarterback there when I was a freshman, and it's kind of neat to see some of those guys be successful at the next level."

Masters recalls the score of the All-Star game he won in 1984 was 21-14, and the game held one particular memorable attribute.

"We played in the Hoosier Dome, which later became the RCA Dome," Masters said of the state's first-ever enclosed football stadium. "It was the first football game ever held in that building."

Masters is impressed with today's players, and admits they are more advanced than those in his day.

"The speed and strength are much better today, we didn't do near as much in the weight room as they do," he said. With all the nutrition stuff they focus on, players are so much stronger and faster than when I played. It's so much fun to watch them."

On to Marian

Marian first established a football program in 2007, and it didn't take long for the Knights to become a national powerhouse at the NAIA level.

The Knights won the national title in 2012 and finished as runnerup 2014 before recording their second national crown last fall.

Eight players from the South All-Star team and five from the North squad are part of this fall's Marian recruiting class.

Defensive coordinator Brock Caraboa and head coach Mark Henninger both see many great qualities in Masters.

"We look for Joe to be competitive early in his career at Marian," Caraboa said. "Joe has a tremendous upside to his game. Joe's demeanor and attitude towards football and life intrigued me when I first met him."

Henninger is in his fourth season at the helm of the Marian program.

"What we like most about Joe is that he is a big, physical lineman with great feet," he said. "On film you notice his explosiveness right away."

Masters also shows a dedication to the game that his new head coach admires.

"Joe has impressed us with his willingness to go above and beyond in his prep for the fall," Henninger said. "He was present at most of our spring practices, and has made an effort to attend summer workouts on campus. We are excited about our D-Line class and Joe is a big part of that."

Aker does not feel like Masters is a one-dimensional player, and can serve as both a pass rusher and a run stopper for Marian.

"They really like his speed," he said, noting that Masters set the school record for sacks with 23. "That goes a lot with the pass rush game -- college football is a lot like that today.

"We're also excited he gets to play a year with [senior running back] Rob Gibson [also a South Putnam grad]."

Rick Masters admits some sorrow at seeing his youngest son's high school career officially end.

"This was the finale," he said. "It was tough at the last home game at South Putnam, because I knew I wouldn't be back there again watching one of my boys play.

"We're looking forward to watching Joe play at Marian for the next four years."

Joe Masters reports to camp on Aug. 2, and classes start on Aug. 22.

"That's 20 days of nothing but football all day, every day," he said. "Marian is a phenomenal school, and being able to play there is huge. They're saying you're one of the best.

Joe Masters tries to get to the quarterback in Friday night's IFCA All-Star Game.

"To play at that level, you have to have a mental attitude towards it, show up, put your nose in the dirt and go."

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: