DAWSON —
A week into two-a-days, I can say without hesitance that what I’ve seen runs the gambit for high school football.
The precision of the Mildred passing game. The athleticism at Hubbard. Some big dudes at Wortham. A Frost team with a hop in their step with a playoff berth predicted.
Day 5 took me to Dawson, where practice had a different feel to it. There was some nervousness among a few players who haven’t played in a few seasons. There was some teaching. There were some big hits on the first day in pads.
There was a matchup where a 140-pound offensive lineman had to go one-on-one with a 330-pound defensive lineman.
It reminded me that while my favorite sport to watch is baseball, my favorite sport to cover as a reporter is football.
There are many reasons. It’s the best slice of life whatever the level, high school or college. A sentimental one thinking back to stringing my first games at House Park for the Austin American-Statesman when I was in college. The coaches. The players. The managers and trainers. Only one game a week.
I could go on and on.
But No. 1, in this age where kids pick their sport of choice in the ninth grade, is an appreciation for the ones who play the sport where they’re risking it all every play. Every Friday night.
It’s just awesome.
Which brings me to the adulation I was feeling as I watched Dawson running plays at 7:45 a.m. Friday morning, with plenty of dew on the field.
Fans that follow Dawson football know the Bulldogs went 0-10 last season. They know they didn’t score many points and gave up a lot.
Who they don’t know are some of the players that already are trying to do better this season. It’s really what high school football — Texas high school football — is all about.
Watching Bulldogs middle linebacker Jake Strother bring the wood on a play. Or quarterback Brandon Cehand run the option out of the Slot T offense. Or tailback Dalton Long weaving his way through defenders.
For all they went through last season, you talk to Dawson players and you hear in their voices that they are confident this season will be a turnaround.
Will it happen? Who knows. It’s just cool seeing them believe in themselves.
“We’re 0-0,” Strother said. “We don’t care about last year. I do use it as motivation sometimes. But it doesn’t bother me.”
Cehand said the Bulldogs are executing better, and time spent in the weight room has seen them get stronger.
“Guys are hustling more,” Cehand said. “We’re talking to each other more. We’re running the plays better.”
With 27 players out for football, the top end of the Bulldogs’ roster will be more than competitive. There is some work to be done at positions like tight end where there is no experience returning.
“We have kids that haven’t played,” Dawson coach Scott Hawkins said. “We have kids that are new to the school. Half of our coaching staff is new. It’s going to be a battle. Everyone has good players coming back.
“Normally when you’ve gone 0-10 you have to build up confidence. Not for us. We have desire and heart. Our kids are learning. They’re getting better.”
The Bulldogs are ready for a new season.
Sports
Related Photos
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Daily Sun photo/Ron Farmer With 27 players out for football, the top end of the Bulldogs’ roster should be competitive this season.
Discussion
TW summer two-a-days football tour: Desire and heart
Dawson Bulldogs are ready for a new season
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Area Schedule: Updated to correct Navarro's game time Saturday
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UPDATED: GC Baseball: Dawson holds off Muenster to take Game 1, 7-5 (Corrects Game 2 time)
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