Bulldogs conclude successful season

Dugger Union's Darrion Chapman (3) tries to jump on a loose ball during a 61-0 victory over Martin County on Oct. 18. The Bulldogs finished with a 5-4 record. (By Shad Cox).

DUGGER - With Saturday's 61-0 shutout of Martin County, the Dugger Union Bulldogs finished their regular season with a 5-4 record, Dugger's first winning season since 2006.

In addition to the win over Martin County, the Bulldogs won twice against both Traders Point Christian Academy and White River Valley Community.

When the Northeast Sullivan School Corporation voted to close the doors of Union (Dugger) High School effective at the end of the 2014 school year, it seemed that the long and storied history of Bulldog football had come to an end.

But we all know what happened next. The inimitable Dugger community spirit refused to be denied. Dugger Union Community School reorganized itself as a charter school, and with that a new era of Bulldog football was reborn.

When I went to Dugger in August to compile the football season preview I wasn't sure what to expect. School was not yet in session and the football team was practicing in a vacant lot across Highway 159 from the Dugger Cemetery.

I will admit I expected to see a ragamuffin collection of players, some of whom physically and athletically would have no business being anywhere near a high school football field.

I was wrong.

I saw a collection of size, speed and skill that I didn't expect to see. And I saw a much bigger than expected turnout. Over 20 players were present at that preseason practice. In some recent years, the Bulldogs had as few as 14 players on the roster. By season's end the number had grown to 26 players.

I violated a cardinal rule of photography when I took the team photograph. I shot the team photo with me facing the sun and the resulting glare resulted in a poor-quality picture.

The alternative would have been to photograph the team with the cemetery in the background. Maybe it's just me but somehow I thought that would convey the wrong message. But thanks to Lana Stringer we now have an appropriate team picture to go with this story.

In the season opener Dugger lost 55-0 to the Noblesville Home School Lions Football Club.

At that preseason practice, Bulldogs' coach Kyle Foli told me he had asked athletic director Steve Hall, "Why didn't you just go ahead and schedule Oklahoma while you were at it?"

In 2013, the Lions were the top-ranked home school football team in the nation.

It's hard to tell in a 55-0 game just how good the winning team really is. But we got an indication Oct. 3 when the Lions lost 7-0 to Winchester, then ranked ninth in Class 2A. Winchester features running back Kiante Enis, who is the nephew of former Penn State running back Curtis Enis. Their win over the Lions was by far the closest margin of victory this season for 8-1 Winchester, who has since risen to eighth in the Class 2A poll.

It may not be reasonable to expect Dugger Union football to rise to the level where the Bulldogs are competitive with Linton-Stockton and Sullivan, as they once were. But there's no reason the program can't improve and be competitive against the likes of Indiana Deaf and the Crimson Knights of Southside Home School.

After Saturday's win over Martin County, coach Kyle Foli said, "We will keep it going and we will get bigger and better."

The Bulldogs certainly have the coaching staff in place to build a program, with Foli and assistants Rick Swan, Larry Cornelius, and Anthony McKinney. At that preseason practice, I was impressed with McKinney's coaching and teaching.

Dugger Union will lose several key players to graduation - lineman Wyatt Inman, running backs Raylee Mesey and Austin Riggleman, and receivers Grant Sauri and Matt Snead - along with standout kicker Seraphin Hammer. Hammer is a foreign exchange student who will return to his home country of Switzerland at the conclusion of the 2014-15 school year.

But the Bulldogs should have as many as 20 players returning from the current roster for next season.

Let's hope the Bulldogs do keep it going and continue to get better as Foli said.

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.