CITY L EAGUE-SOUTH DIVISION
Columbus South
Sophomore trio to lead Bulldogs’ charge
By SCOTT GERFEN THISWEEKSPORTS.COM
Dez Robinson has the physique to match his position on the Columbus South High School football team, but his age might fool some opposing coaches. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, the wide receiver/defensive back isn’t your typical sophomore. Neither is fullback/linebacker Deaquan Taylor (6-0, 205) nor tight end/defensive end Lamont Broomfield (6-3, 235). All three sophomores return for the Bulldogs after gaining valuable experience in starting roles last season. “Those guys are definitely the heart and soul of our program at this point,” said coach Keith Dimmy, whose team plays host to Whetstone in its opener Friday, Aug. 29. “These guys all started from day one. They have game experience and they certainly don’t look like sophomores. It’s going to be scary and fun to watch until they’re seniors.” Dimmy, in his third year, hopes his sophomore class can help lead the Bulldogs to their first winning season since 2006, when they went 6-4. South finished 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the City LeagueSouth Division a year ago, sixth
behind champion MarionFranklin (7-0). At a glance “I’m not a junior or a senior, *Eastmoor Academy........L, 42-28 2014 SCHEDULE but I know what it takes to sucAug. 29...................vs. Whetstone *Briggs ..........................W, 34-21 ceed,” Robinson said. “(Our Sept. 5.....................vs. Groveport *Africentric.......................W, 70-0 class) talks about where we want Sept. 12 ...............at Harvest Prep *Columbus West..............L, 49-40 to go and we want to make sure *Sept. 19..............at Walnut Ridge *Marion-Franklin .............L, 37-12 we get there.” *Sept. 26 ...........vs. Independence *League contest The sophomores have been *Oct. 3.......................at Eastmoor INSIDE THE BULLDOGS quick to embrace their leader*Oct. 10 .........................at Briggs •Coach: Keith Dimmy, third season *Oct. 17...................vs. Africentric •Top players: Lamont Broomfield ship responsibilities. *Oct. 24...........vs. Columbus West (TE/DL), Nigel Brown (OL/DL), Taylor started at middle line*Oct. 31 ...........at Marion-Franklin Deswaun Divens (DB), Dez Robinbacker last season and finished son (WR/DB), Tyrone Sheppard 2013 RESULTS with 90 tackles. Robinson calls (RB/DB), Deaquan Taylor (FB/LB) and (3-7 overall, 2-5 in City-South) the coverages on defense and Whetstone ......................L, 42-32 Devin Tyus (RB/LB) returns as the Bulldogs’ most Zanesville .......................L, 55-14 •Key losses: Deone Lindsey (RB), consistent receiver. This year, Linden .............................W, 48-6 Donjae Neal (LB) and Terric O’Neal Broomfield will move from the *Walnut Ridge .................L, 47-20 (QB) offensive line to a skill position. *Independence..................L, 66-6 “I’m just trying to lay out a blueprint for those guys to help them succeed as athletes,” said Dimmy, an Eastmoor Academy graduate who played safety at BUNDLE PRICE GUARANTEED UNTIL the University of Minnesota. “They want to play, so they know how to put the work in.” © 2014 WideOpenWest Finance, LLC. There is plenty to play for. “We play for championships and scholarships,” Robinson said. “We want to be on top.” Terric O’Neal, who threw for doing. I think he’s really going more than 800 yards and rushed to be a player who’s an extenOFFENSE sion of his coach. I like the confor about 700. O’Neal transferred to Mar- tinuity that he has and he’s a South must replace its top offensive producers from last ion-Franklin. Taking his place guy I want out there in that posiseason in running back Deone is sophomore Joehnas Joyce. tion.” Along with Taylor, juniors “I’ve had a new quarterback Lindsey, who rushed for 1,816 yards and 27 touchdowns on every year,” Dimmy said. “I Tyrone Sheppard and Devon 170 carries, and quarterback really like what Joehnas is Tyus will handle duties in the
2016
Donjae Neal. backfield. “We’ve got some young guys With a roster of only 40 players, Dimmy has concerns about who aren’t afraid to run to the depth up front, where junior football,” Dimmy said. “In years Nigel Brown is the only returning starter. BULLDOGS >> 65
The lineup Quarterback: *Joehnas Joyce (so., 6-1, 170) Running backs: Tyrone Sheppard (jr., 5-9, 190), Devon Tyus (jr., 5-11, 180), Deaquan Taylor (so., 6-0, 205) Receivers: *Dez Robinson (so., 6-1, 200), *Thomas Guttierrez (jr., 6-1, 150), *Anthony Hall (sr., 6-0, 175), *Robert Williams (sr., 6-2, 170) Tight end: *Lamont Broomfield (so., 6-3, 235) Linemen: *Nigel Brown (jr., 6-1, 280), *Kalen Spears (sr., 6-3, 250), *Melvin McGlown (sr., 6-1, 220), *Cadeem Warner-Pierce (sr., 6-0, 215), Cornelius Mitchell (sr., 6-2, 230) (*denotes projected starter)
DEFENSE
After allowing an average of 36.5 points last season, Dimmy is looking for improvement from his 4-3 defense, which will be filled by a number of twoway players. South must replace last season’s top tackler, linebacker
FOOTBALL
IS LIKE LIFE — it requires
perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority.
— VINCE LOMBARDI
Good Luck,
columbus south
bulldogs! from your friends at
MCKEE FROM >> 58
season, he has received an offer to play for Toledo. Mckee, meanwhile, credits his performance in a 7-6 loss to Marion-Franklin in 2012 when he had “17 or 18 tackles and four or five sacks” for getting him on the radar of recruiters. Since that time, he has racked up 22 Division I offers and has visited Kentucky, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Purdue. Mckee Jr. also has offers from Arkansas and Tennessee from the SEC, Oklahoma and West Virginia from the Big 12 and Wisconsin from the Big Ten. No offers have yet come from either Michigan, which regularly has recruited central
NUBIANS
FROM >> 59
The lineup Quarterback: *Raqwan Camara (sr., 6-2, 200) Running backs: *Kennieyl Rice (jr., 5-9, 175), *Mike Hartway (sr., 6-5, 210) Receivers: *Jermaine Ward (sr., 6-0, 175) Tight ends: *Trevall Walls (jr., 5-10, 175), Ulmer Mazie (sr., 6-8, 240) Linemen: *Savon Banks (sr., 5-10, 245), *D’yonmarte Bibens (jr., 6-5, 265), *James Martin (sr., 5-8, 220), Robert Lewis (jr., 6-2, 250), Jalen Martin (jr., 5-9, 260) (*denotes projected starter) August 28, 2014
Ohio players in recent years, or Ohio State. “It’s coming to the point where I’m starting to narrow it down,” Mckee Jr. said. “I went to a Tennessee camp, Ohio State and Michigan camps. Michigan said they were taking a certain number of guys from our class, and I know Ohio State has (Dublin Scioto senior) Nick Conner and (Cincinnati St. Xavier senior) Justin Hilliard, who is actually bigger and faster than Conner, plus Ohio State got the No. 1 linebacker from last year (Raekwon McMillan from Hinesville, Ga.). “(Recruiting) has been fun. I was really enjoying all the mail and people coming up and talking to me.”
Tarvin expects Mckee Jr. to fit in immediately, albeit in a slightly different role than he served at Walnut Ridge. They didn’t interact much on the field the last few years because both primarily played on defense. “We never really got to go against each other, and we both just tried to be leaders on our teams,” Tarvin said. “With him being a new player here, he’s not that vocal. With me being the (middle) linebacker, I’m more vocal because that’s like the quarterback of the defense. “It’s going to make a big difference having him. We just have the same mindset about bringing a lot of energy.”
DEFENSE
The lineup Linemen: *Bibens, *Lewis, *Martin, *Nick Ross (sr., 5-9, 165) Linebackers: *James Martin, *Camara, *Malik Leonard (sr., 6-0, 230) Secondary: *Hartway, *Rice, *Ward, *Jarod Martin (jr., 5-9, 150)
julrey@thisweeknews.com
With a number of two-way players, Zink has stressed conditioning in the offseason. Africentric returns veterans at the linebacker position in Martin, Camara and senior Malik Leonard. “We do not want to get worn down,” Zink said. “That’s why we’re trying to use our offense as a defensive weapon to conSPECIAL TEAMS trol the clock and the tempo of The lineup the game. We want to make Kicker: Camara other teams panic.” Punter: Camara Expected to start up front in Returners: Ward, Rice the 4-3 defense are Bibens, Long snapper: Banks Lewis, Martin and senior Nick Ross, while Rice will lead the sports@thisweeknews.com way in the secondary.
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