Dixon-Dougan's philosophy: Get the guy with the ball
The first thing you notice is his neck. It's oak-tree thick, a great shock absorber built for collision. Then you notice his eyes. They dart back and forth, often seeing and reacting to things few high school linebackers pick up.
The first thing you notice is his neck. It's oak-tree thick, a great shock absorber built for collision. Then you notice his eyes. They dart back and forth, often seeing and reacting to things few high school linebackers pick up.
Ridley's Sam Dixon-Dougan doesn't miss them. He was arguably the best player on the field last year in the first half of Ridley's PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal against eventual state champion La Salle. There's a reason why a 35-7 Riley defeat was a competitive game at halftime: That reason was the 12 tackles the 5-11, 190-pound senior fireplug had by intermission, flying all over the field.
Dixon-Dougan likes to wear a Superman T-shirt under his jersey. He looks the part. Now it's up to Dixon-Dougan to continue playing that role this season as the hub of the Green Raiders' vaunted defense. He doesn't need a knee brace this fall, after missing two games last year with a torn right medial collateral ligament. He's focused, ready and vows to be even more punishing than he was last season in aiding Ridley in its quest to reach the PIAA Class AAAA state championship.
It is possible, with everything the Green Raiders have back this year. But defense will be the difference maker. Defense will lead Ridley deep into the postseason. The play of Dixon-Dougan could determine just how far Ridley goes - and he readily accepts that role.
"With the brace being off, it makes a big difference," said Dixon-Dougan, who's receiving attention from Temple, James Madison, Delaware, New Hampshire and Kutztown. "I wasn't really myself, I don't think, through most of last year. I didn't feel that secure about my knee. But once I started feeling more comfortable with it during the playoffs, I didn't think about it. I went full speed. I don't like playing any other way than full speed; I'd rather knock myself out than go halfway."
Dixon-Dougan seemed to be heading into basketball. He played day and night. Ironically, basketball led him to football. During a pickup game in a park, a youth football coach noticed how Dixon-Dougan held his own against a much older kid. The coach asked whether he played football. Dixon-Dougan never played a down of football before eighth grade.
"I got into it late," he said. "I used to have to sneak around to play any sports. My mom wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer, and I wanted to play sports. So coach [Bill] Carroll came knocking on my door one night and convinced my mom to let me play football."
As an eighth-grader playing with kids who had played organized football since they were 6, Dixon-Dougan had no real idea what he was doing - so he kept it simple: Tackle the guy with the ball.
He did it so well, other schools began noticing and asked whether he would like to attend their high school. By then, Dixon-Dougan and his mother Fannie had moved from Morton to Ridley, and he had heard about what kind of football program Ridley had.
He played both ways as a freshman, then sparingly on the varsity as a sophomore, hampered greatly by a pulled hamstring. The explosion came junior year. Expect a bigger impact this season. He knows the game much better, diligently inhaling everything he could on film this summer, and Ridley coach Dennis Decker will play Dixon-Dougan primarily on defense.
The game comes to him in a natural flow. He knows what he's doing and he knows where he needs to be. Factor in 10 pounds of added muscle, with a 330-pound bench press, and 430-pound squat for someone 190 pounds, and stopping Dixon-Dougan will become an attention point for every team the Green Raiders see this season.
"The knee injury last year was a blessing in disguise," Decker said. "It gave Sam a chance to step back and focus all of his attention on defense, and you saw what happened. Sam is a difference-maker and without a doubt it's night and day from how Sam reads things this time last year to how he's able to see things now. He plays with a lot of emotion. He's a kid who just loves playing the game."
SUBURBAN SCHEDULE
TODAY
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Radnor at Penncrest, 7
Springfield (D) at Marple Newtown, 7
Lower Merion at Ridley, 7
Haverford High at Garnet Valley, 7
Harriton at Strath Haven, 7:30
PIONEER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Pope John Paul II at Pottsgrove, 7
NONLEAGUE
West Chester East at Kennett, 4
Quakertown at Pocono Mountain East, 7
Phoenixville at Unionville, 7
Archbishop Ryan at Wissahickon, 7
Central Bucks West at William Tennent, 7
Bensalem at Pennridge, 7
Souderton at Perkiomen Valley, 7
Abington at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 7
Methacton at Upper Merion, 7
Reading at Owen J. Roberts, 7
Oxford at Avon Grove, 7
Downingtown East at Norristown, 7
Neshaminy at Hatboro-Horsham, 7
Downingtown West at Glen Mills, 7
Council Rock North at Central Bucks South, 7
Bishop McDevitt at Cheltenham, 7
Academy Park at Coatesville, 7
Bishop Shanahan at West Chester Rustin, 7
Boyertown at Twin Valley, 7
Ben Franklin at Truman, 7
Interboro at Episcopal Academy, 7
Harrisburg at Pennsbury, 7
Chester at Sun Valley, 7
Spring-Ford at Sussex Tech, 7
Emily Fisher at Morrisville, 7
New Hope-Solebury at Tower Hill, 7
Great Valley at W.C. Henderson, 7:15
Lansdale Catholic at North Penn, 7:30
TOMORROW
BICENTENNIAL LEAGUE
Calvary Christian at Lower Moreland, 10 a.m.
Bristol at Delco Christian, 7
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Upper Darby at Conestoga, 7
NONLEAGUE
Penn Wood at Penn Charter, 10 a.m.
Chichester at Archmere, 10 a.m.
Big Spring at Octorara, 1
Academy/New Church at Perkiomen School, 1
Pennington at Jenkintown, 1
Leonard Hall at Valley Forge, 1
McDonogh at Haverford School, 1:30
Council Rock South at Central Bucks East, 2
Upper Moreland at Pottstown, 7
Upper Dublin at Upper Perkiomen, 7