Mr. Football Profile: Davis Mattingly
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Name: Davis Mattingly
Position: Quarterback
High School: Male Traditional High School
Career prior to senior season: Rewind back to the summer of 2013, the Male coaching staff is looking for it's starting quarterback for the year to come. It's an open competition between junior Davis Mattingly and sophomore Hayden Shelton. Shelton had great success with his freshman team the year prior -- leading them to an undefeated season.
Neither quarterback, at the time, was a clear-cut favorite. Mattingly, having the stronger arm and the bigger frame won the job.
In his first start, Mattingly threw for 361 yards on 13-17 passing with four touchdowns. And his season rolled on.
From there, Male went on a eight-game winning streak, which included running through the "Super District's" usual front runners -- Trinity, St. Xavier -- in consecutive weeks.
While the Bulldogs couldn't get over the hump against rival Manual, they rolled into the playoffs with a one-loss record and as good of shot as any to claim the 6A title.
In a three-point second round victory over St. Xavier, their second of the season over the Tigers, Mattingly put his name in the record books. He completed a record 47 passes, capturing the all-time mark for completions in a game, as his team moved on their next test against Trinity.
Facing Trinity meant to advance on Male would have to defeat St. Xavier and the 'Rocks in consecutive weeks not once, but twice. And it wasn't even close.
Male defeated Trinity 31-7 en route to the semi finals.
Mattingly's stat line for those four games (both St. Xavier and Trinity games) combined: 116-165 (70.3%), 1,212 yards, 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Some where down the line he got injured. So in the game against Scott Co., to go to the title game, Male's quarterback wasn't at one-hundred percent. It was the same foot he planted off of, to throw the ball, that was bothering him. Without their gaudy passing attack, Male went down to Scott Co. ending their season.
His final stats for 2013: 278-440 (63.1%), 3,152 yards, 27 touchdowns, 7 interceptions
During the offseason, Mattingly worked on two things bulking up and improving his throwing motion, succeeding in both. He's put on 15-20 pounds in body mass and has a quicker, cleaner release.
While there wasn't an open quarterback competition in camp this summer he trained in the offseason like there was.
2014 outlook: It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility for Mattingly to throw for over 4,000 yards this season. With Male's good ground game I doubt it will happen, though.
Male has the same schedule as last year and will be favored in every game.
If Mattingly and the Bulldogs advance to where they were last year they'll likely find themselves playing a road game at Scott Co. for a chance to go to the 6A state championship.
Even with all the great skill players in Male's arsenal, their quarterback still holds the key.
Recruiting situation: Mattingly is still without any scholarship offers.
Kentucky, WKU, Cincinnati, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana St., Miami (OH) and Louisville are all showing him interest.
Kentucky is unsure if they'll take a quarterback in the 2015 class, at this time. If they do, he is certainly a candidate.
Cincinnati and Illinois have both shown interest and had him on their respected campuses.
Purdue already has a commitment from three-star Princeton (Ky.) Caldwell Co. quarterback Elijah Sindelar, but just in case they're keeping tabs on the Louisville native.
He camped with both Indiana St. and Miami (OH) over the summer. Both schools are interested, but are still gauging where he's at, as well as their recruiting situation.
Pleading Mattingly's case: Will any of the candidates for Mr. Football play a more pivotal role in big games against fierce competition as Davis Mattingly will?
Easy answer: No.
Playing St. Xavier and Trinity used to be thought of as a death sentence. He and the Bulldogs now face the task confident and prepared. The backs and receivers know their guy will make the right decisions. They know he'll give them the ball and usually put them in position to make plays with the ball in their hand.
Let's not forget, Mattingly has arguably the best receiving target in the state in junior wide receiver Keion Wakefield.
The competition, the clutch moments, the big-time Class 6-A football games likely won't be taken into consideration when the votes go in for Mr. Football, but Davis Mattingly should.