Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Thomas County Central’s diminutive quarterback is quickly emerging as a big man on the Yellow Jackets’ campus.
With 782 rushing yards, Eric Dodson has helped rejuvenate a revamped split-back veer offense. In doing so, the Yellow Jackets’ signal-caller has proven to be a valuable commodity in the team’s run to the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.
Dodson is slated to start his 12th straight game for the Yellow Jackets despite injuring his right shoulder last Friday night against Alcovy. The injury couldn’t keep Dodson from finishing the game and leading the Yellow Jackets to a 15-8 victory. Dodson finished with 188 yards passing and 55 yards on the ground.
“(His shoulder) was sore, but it didn’t let it affect him because, statistically, he had the best night he’s had as a quarterback,” said Central coach Bill Shaver. “They were stacking eight and nine in the box and kind of saying ‘OK, if you want to beat us throwing, go ahead.’”
The playoff win was Central’s first in two years and the first in Shaver’s tenure as head coach.
“It was very big, especially since we know we didn’t play our best but still came out victorious,” said Dodson. “That tells us we are getting better each game. If we can just limit turnovers, I don’t think anybody can beat us.”
The Yellow Jackets will enter the second round on a 10-game winning streak. Dodson has been a spark in lighting the offense’s fire. Central has averaged 24 points in its 10 wins. During the streak, Dodson has recorded two 100-yard rushing games.
According to Shaver, experience has been the difference.
“It’s all about getting to play. The more games you play the better you're going to get and the more comfortable you’re going to get,” Shaver said. “Playing quarterback in our offense is tough because everything is based on your decisions. You’ve got to be a great decision maker.”
You’ve also got to be tough. That’s nothing new for Dodson. At 5-foot-6, 145 pounds, Dodson is smaller than most football players, much less, quarterbacks. His body has taken a beating. Bumps and bruises haven’t limited his play and effectiveness, however. That alone has Dodson gaining more and more respect from his peers and those who watch him play.
“He’s a tough little nut,” Shaver said. “As a matter of fact, the funny thing is, the guy from the newspaper up where Alcovy was, he called the first of the week and, I guess, he had our roster and stats and stuff like that. He said, ‘I see your quarterback is your leading rusher and leading passer.’ He said, ‘Is his size right on your (roster)?’ I said, ‘What have you got it as?’ He said, ‘(his height and weight).’ I said, ‘Yep, that’s about right.’ He went, ‘Wow, really?’ I went, ‘Yep.’ I said, ‘He’s just a tough, little guy, but he’s really a lot bigger than he was last year.’
“You know he’s a leader when he got hit and three of his offensive linemen run over to him right quick and motion for coach (Bill) Wilhelm to come out there and check on him. They were sprinting up there after he got tackled,” Shaver added. “They were definitely concerned about him. That shows he’s their leader and that's what you want your quarterback to be.”
Dodson’s toughness can also be credited to his years on the wrestling mat. The junior has wrestled since he was five years old. Grappling caused him to grow stronger — mentally and physically.
“You’ve got to be tough in wrestling,” Shaver said. “That’s one of the toughest sports there is as far as an individual — where it’s just you and your opponent.
“You’ve got to be tough every single time you go out there. Your wins and losses are based solely on what you do. It’s hand-to-hand war there so, yeah, I bet that has a lot to do with him being tough.”
Dodson added, “(Wrestling) helps a lot. All the aggressiveness I take out on the mat, I use on the field, too, that same aggression, the same intensity, the same everything.”
Quarterbacks are also encouraged to learn from their mistakes. Dodson has and made other teams pay for them. Against Alcovy, he threw one interception and lost one fumble. Despite the two miscues, he led the Yellow Jackets to a come-from-behind victory. Two weeks earlier against Westside-Macon, Dodson committed two turnovers in the game’s first few minutes before settling down with 150 total yards and one scintillating 20-yard touchdown run.
“I try to be perfect, but coach always tells me you’re not going to be perfect,” Dodson said. “I wasn’t happy with my performance because I knew we could do a lot better than what we did. To come out victorious, (though) you can’t argue with that.”
Shaver added, “He was disappointed in some of the turnovers that he had (against Alcovy), which he’ll be the first one to correct it. He’s definitely a big-time student of the game. He’ll work on trying to correct those. He’s the most disappointed of anybody with what happened with the turnovers. After the game, you would have thought we’d lost if you’d looked at him. He just wants to be perfect all the time.”
As a starting quarterback, Dodson nearly is perfect.
