Sam Dickerson is the silent type. At least until he steps on the football field.
Dickerson, 18, has been a silent leader for the Catawba Ridge Copperheads this season off the field, but a loud one on the field in both his play and commanding presence on as outside linebacker and safety.
One of 13 seniors on this year’s team, Dickerson is part of the first senior class to play football for Catawba Ridge, but more importantly, he is a member of their first ever playoff team, which opens 6 p.m. Saturday evening on the road in the 4A playoffs against the Greer Yellow Jackets.
For Dickerson, it has been two years of hard work that has helped to get the team here. Catawba Ridge enters the playoffs with a 5-1 record.
“We have a lot of confidence,” he said. “As a defense, we feel good going into the game.”
At 5’10” and 170 pounds, Dickerson lets his play do the talking on the field. The self-admitted quiet guy from Alabama moved to the area before the start of his junior season and chose to go to Catawba Ridge because he felt like it wouldn’t be as hard to fit in with the opening of a new school.
“I am a behind the scenes kind of guy,” he said. “That’s how I like to roll. I’m not a big hoo-rah guy.”
However, don’t let Dickerson’s quiet demeanor fool you. When he is playing, he is always pointing out assignments and reading what the offense is going to be doing.
“On the field, I am loud all the time,” he said. “I am always yelling something.”
One thing that has helped Catawba Ridge this season has been Dickerson’s leadership, especially on defense. At one point, Catawba Ridge went three straight games with a shutout this season after dropping their first game of the season to South Pointe.
“After the South Pointe game, we flipped a switch,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson said that this year the entire team is focused on winning and it has led them to a very good year. A lot of that comes from their closeness as a squad.
“Our teamwork is the biggest thing for us,” he said. “We communicate so well. We have taken a lot of reps together. We have done some pretty cool stuff. We knew coming into this season we had it in us.”
Dickerson has been playing the game since he was 8-years-old and despite being a 10-year veteran of the game and only 18, he has a lot to show when it comes to x’s and o’s.
“He asks a lot of questions,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Zac Lendyak. “His football IQ is very high. He is like the quarterback on defense.”
Due to his size, it is unsure if Dickerson will get any offers to play in college. Lendyak said he should despite that.
“Someone is going to get lucky because they take a chance on him,” Lendyak said. “We are hopeful someone will take a chance on him.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
