Degree update
As you probably know by now, Ossining star lineman Dakota Degree severely broke his ankle in yesterday’s scrimmage and will miss his entire senior season. Degree is a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder who had really developed this offseason and could one day be a Division I player.
To the right is a photo of Degree in his hospital bed. He’s holding a ball signed by his Ossining teammates and coaching staff. Coach Dan Ricci sent me the photo today while visiting him.
Dakota actually posted this comment on the blog, which I thought was great:
THANK YOU;
Thank you guys for the love and support i am about to go in to surgery. hopefully all will go so i could play again. this isnt my last time on the feild. thank you guys for everything and thank you to kev. thank you to my coaches and my team i love ya. its still O town pride babyyyyy!!!!!!lol
Hopefully Degree gets through surgery well and his rehab goes smoothly. I intend to speak to him very soon and follow his progress throughout the year. Get well, Dakota.
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Sucks a lot. Everything happens for a reason my du its all good.
Kev you hear anything about Yorktown at that scrimmage yesterday?
Such a great player to play against it’s truly a shame to see someone like him go down. Best of luck to him next year he’s got the talent.
Kev…When a player is thanking you in their blog, you may need to step back for a moment to ensure you’re not becoming too biased. It’s commendable that your checking in on player injuries but it seems as though more than a few readers have had to remind you of late that you may be reporting on the same players and teams lately. You do a solid job but don’t get too comfortable or too close to these players and teams. You have a larger responsibility to the public that pays to read this newspaper which supercedes your being a “favorite” with the players and/or coaches.
john..shut up, who do u think you are?
Kevin keep doing “You”. You are doing a great job.
This blog is great and if someone is being over looked the blogger can tell us their story.
Enjoy the weekend.
Dakota
hope all went will the surgery, hopefully they got you something good to eat afterwards lol… Dude make the best of what’s ahead of you. Take care of what you have control of… stick to the rehab, hit the books hard, take on everything that comes to with the same authority you handle things on the field, you got a lot of people who want to see good things for you in your future … best wishes on a speedy recovery big man
oh and don’t get on Kevin, be grateful for the blog… think about all the stories that wouldn’t be covered without it. obviously he can’t be everywhere covering everything
What a shame.
Good luck Dakota.
John,
Your post is ridiculous. Keep up the great work Kevin. It is great that these kids know and respect who you are.
Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of everyone in Section 1 football.
John’s just posting his opinion..just like alot of people do on here…I mean it’s great the kid posted that…if he really did..I know some teens out there think it’s funny and use other peoples names when they post things…that’s just uncool. There’s about 60 teams in Section 1 alone, throw in the local preps and CHSAA, and there actually is alot of news that could be out there that isn’t covered. Just seems that every time it involves a D-1 talent everyone cares, but if it was a star player at Haldane no one cares…that’s just a shame on many people to be biased and care about certain people..
Kevin wrote about the Haldane kid being injured but that he didn’t get details…. Ricci reported the Degree injury, and kept Kevin posted, he probably mentioned the Haldane injury to Kevin as well, Kevin can’t know everything, and can’t post what is isn’t informed of…..
Kevin does an excellent job on his coverage. This is a blog. It is extra and something he does to enhance the coverage of high school football. There are 100s of players who could thank Kevin for his coverage throughout the years. Dokata is suffering through something you would want any player to go through. Just because he thanked Kevin is no indication of bias on Kevin’s part. Give us a break.
i hate tosay this, but this injury helps rye in the first rye test of class a…. it is like rye is blessed by football angels , for years watching rye it always happens their way
Big Joe…
I know you didn’t mean to say what you did exactly like it came out. I’m not trying to speak for all of Rye, but I know Dino, his staff, the players and fans don’t feel blessed by football angels when a player on another team gets injured. I was looking forward to seeing the young man play after hearing so many good things about him lately. I’m sure the rest of Ossining’s 2009 foes feel the same way, and like Rye, wish him all the best. It certainly doesn’t help a team when they lose such a great player as Degree, but Ossining has a powerhouse team that will still mount a major challenge to whoever they play including Rye.
Kevin: who is the best lineman in the section now?
The people from Rye are class people who would NEVER root for someone to get hurt.
it is not a root nor toot , they just seem to luck out about big games, Many times when it came TO THE HARRISON-RYE GAME,the huskies seem to have their star players injured,I WOULD NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY GREAT PLAYER INJURED AND MISS A SEASON-I PRAY FOR HIS SPEEDY RECOVERY, OSSINING ,HAS GREAT TALENT , AND HAS A GOOD REPLACEMENT ,
Big Joe, you are really a loser. Get a life.
Ossining is a team of excellent football players, Ricci will have them motivated and ready to play. Friday will be round one and there is a very good chance these teams will meet again for round two in the playoffs. Dakota season ending injury is a huge hole on the offence and defense line, impossible to replace that quality of a player, others musto step up. This will create an opportunity for some other kids to make some key blocks and tackles. It’s a team game and the kids from O’Town still have a full season of football to be played and it will be a very good season.
Kevin thanks for all your great work and reporting too bad idiots are allowed to post on this blog.
Dakota Degree? Never heard of him.
very cool post, i wish we could all think of something so clever….
know what? who asked you? **
Dakota,
Firstly as a sports fan, I want to say what a shame it was to hear of your injury. I wish you the best of luck and wishes for the speediest possible recovery so you can get out the field ASAP.
Secondly, speaking as a Rye fan, at the scrimmage today EVERYONE around me expressed their sincere regret at your injury and are hoping you get back soon.
ALL fans expressed the view that they really wished that you were going to play in the Rye game for your OWN satisfaction and so that Ossining could field the team they expected to before your injury.
Finally all agreed that Ossining has a really good team and even with the disadvantage of not having you play, that the Rye/Ossining game will be a great one!
my heart always goes out for a kid who misses extensive time as a senior, let the alone the whole season. Dakota, stay positive, He has a plan for you.
Many that you know and don’t know are praying for a speedy recovery. Be patient and positive. Wishing you all the best.