By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
The second football season for Southeast Alamance won’t seem so new.
After an astonishing amount of success a year ago in their first year, the Stallions can rightfully envision greater possibilities without so much uncertainty.
Continuing what was established in Year 1 is perhaps the most exciting aspect of the approaching second go-around.
“We kind of felt we put our school and community on the map a little bit,” coach Tony Aguilar says.
There was an 8-5 record, including two victories in the Class 2-A state playoffs, for the new school. This was done with a skeleton crew of upperclassmen.
So while last August it would have been difficult to know what to expect from the Stallions, now the expectations are soaring. How will they handle this new status?
“Now we’ve got to fulfill that,” senior Ryan Dodson said. “We have to live up to it. We asked for it.”
The progress was on display by late October when Southeast had a chance to secure a Mid-Carolina Conference championship going into the final game of the regular season. That didn’t pan out, but two road conquests in the state playoffs followed.
So from mid-August to November, there was quite a transformation.
“We had jitters,” receiver / linebacker Jerry “Bubba” Sims said. “Once we won a game, all the jitters went away. . . Nobody expected us to go as far as we did. We’re getting bigger, faster stronger and getting smarter on the field.”
Comparisons to last year aren’t necessary.
“Last year is done,” Aguilar said. “Last year is over with.”
Indeed, the Stallions will look different in some spots, but returnees maintain key roles. That might start with three-sport standout Sims. He’s a versatile playmaker on offense and defense.
“Whatever we need Bubba to do, Bubba is going to do,” Aguliar said.
Dodson emerged as a leader of last year’s team as the quarterback and along the defensive front. He said there might have been apprehension for many of the younger players, but that faded and additional leaders have been developed.
“They know what we can do now and they’re encouraging everyone,” Ryan Dodson said.
As for his role, he’ll no longer be the primary quarterback, though he might be called upon to dabble in some quarterback duty in certain schemes. His potential positions could include tight and H-back on offense and at end on defense, with Aguilar’s description as Swiss Army knife.
“And he’s going to do it at a very high level,” the coach said.
Senior kicker Cruz Nelms and junior linebacker Aiden Pak were contributors last year, while a pair of sophomores – running back Daniel Bunker and tight end Drew Easter – already made strong impressions during their freshman seasons. College recruiting interest in Easter has been on the uptick.
It seems likely that program newcomers will make impacts. Quarterback Landon Dodson arrived from Southern Alamance for his senior season.
“Big expectations,” Landon Dodson said. “We should be ranked high in the preseason polls this year, and hopefully we can make a good run in the playoffs.”
Also among 10 seniors is cornerback Malachi Plummer, a former Southern Alamance player.
The junior class has twins Josh Gant and Jeremiah Gant, who were previously at Graham, and speedster Augustine Koroma, a mid-year transfer from Durham Hillside, though he didn’t play football. Koroma represented Southeast in the track and field state championships in May.
Southeast’s only two Class 3-A opponents on the schedule come in the season’s first two weeks. The Stallions lost to Orange and Eastern Alamance last year, so those matchups could serve as early measuring sticks.
Read more on potential quarterback Landon Dodson: https://alamancenews.com/stallions-new-qb-focuses-on-future/
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