STEENS — Years from now, Thomas Dantzler and Ben Campbell can say there were there.
They will be able to remember if others who claim they were in Steens on a windy Halloween night in October in 2014 are telling the truth or if they are spinning a tale.
Dantzler and Campbell will remember Friday night because they were on the sidelines watching the Columbus Christian Academy football team beat DeSoto School (Ark.) 34-14 in the school’s first Mississippi Association of Independent Schools 11-man home playoff game. They also will remember the cold, crisp evening because they took turns emulating one of the Rams who did his share to make the evening one for the history books.
“I’m Dawson,” said Dantzler as he did his best two-step while the Rams were deep on the Thunderbirds’ side of the field.
Said Campbell, “I’m Dawson.”
Both ball boys, who have ties to the school’s current and past football teams, did their best to spin and to dance a la sophomore Dawson Shaw, the Rams’ diminutive field general, who has a knack for making tacklers miss.
It was fitting to watch Dantzler and Campbell showcase their emerging skills on a night the school honored its 1988 and 1992 national runners-up and the 2014 team backed up its first MAIS 11-man district title with its first playoff victory since a 40-14 win against Faith on Nov. 6, 1998. That victory was in the Southeastern Christian Conference.
Shaw wasn’t around for that victory, but he was more than happy to offer Dantzler and Campbell a few lessons that they could pick out and work on on their own so one day they will be able to use them in a Columbus Christian uniform.
“I am just trying to keep my head level and play to the next game because I know it is going to get harder every week, and we have to stay focused on the game ahead and play hard,” Shaw said.
Dantzler’s brother, JD, was on the team last season, while another brother, Maurice, is a sophomore on the team. Campbell’s father, Ray, played football at school and was a member of one of the national runner-up teams. He also keeps the statistics for the football team and serves as the public address announcer.
In addition to watching Shaw, Dantzler and Campbell also paid close attention to senior KC Cunningham, who had 26 carries for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Shaw added a 13-yard touchdown pass to Alec Vasquez to account for the scoring. The Rams had 65 carries for 441 yards.
The win helped Columbus Christian (7-4) set a school record for victories in 11-man football and equal its most wins in a season since 2003, when the school went 7-3 and was a member of the Christian Football Association. The previous high was 2010, when the Rams finished 6-6 and made the playoffs for the first time. Columbus Christian, which was known as Immanuel Christian prior to this season, first started playing 11-man football in 2007.
Columbus Christian coach Greg Watkins said the players were focused this week and weren’t satisfied with merely winning a first 11-man district title. After breaking out to a 12-0 lead, the Rams missed opportunities to extend the lead and then watched as DeSoto School (4-7) scored on its first play of the third quarter and used a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 12-8.
But Columbus Christian stuck with a solid ground game that featured Cunningham, B.J. Shirley, Shaw, and Kimarri Whitfield to keep DeSoto School guessing.
“In our pre-game speech, I stressed to them each team has its identity, and each team sets new goals for next year’s team,” Watkins said. “Last year’s team made it to the district championship game and the first round of the playoffs. I asked the players, ‘What is this team going to set for next year? Is it win the district and win one playoff game, or is it going to be beyond that?’ We stressed let’s make a tough goal for next year’s team.”
With the victory, fifth-seeded Columbus Christian will advance to face fourth-seeded Natchez Trinity Episcopal, which beat Central Holmes, next week. Trinity Episcopal beat Columbus Christian 55-0 in the first round of the 2013 Class A playoffs. The Saints went on to win the state title.
Watkins has said several times this season that it has made progress but it hasn’t gotten to where it wants to be. When a program looks to establish itself, it often looks to senior leaders like Cunningham, Shirley, and linebacker Grant Wyatt.
“Those seniors, you could see the hunger in them and it fed off on the team as the game went on,” Watkins said.
Cunningham, who is one of the longest-tenured players on the football team at the school, also has been a mainstay on the basketball, baseball, and track and field teams. He credited his offensive line for opening holes and his backfield mates for taking pressure off him to do it all by himself. Instead, the Rams share the load, as Cunningham drew praise from Watkins in the second half for delivering a block for Whitfield.
As much as he blocked and served as a decoy, Cunningham admitted he felt like it was his game.
“Shout out to the blockers and everything because it was pretty helpful,” Cunningham said.
Shirley serves as fullback and often is Cunningham’s primary blocker. He gained 66 yards on 21 carries and also played a key role on defense to help the school develop championship tradition in a sport other than boys basketball.
“We are actually putting this school on the map,” Shirley said. “Usually when people think of us, they never think of us as a football team. They usually think of us as a basketball team. We have been working and we have been getting everybody united and have been becoming brothers. When we make that bond as brothers, we fight hard.”
Shaw epitomizes that fighting spirit. At 5-foot-5, 135 pounds, Shaw knows he has to be elusive. He credits his father, Robbie, who played on the defensive line at South Lamar High School in Millport, Alabama, for giving him his speed and quickness. He said he has heard the terms “scatback” and “jitterbug,” but he doesn’t think either one is a good way to describe his running style.
But those words seemed fitting late in the third quarter after Shaw weaved and darted between Thunderbirds to score a two-point conversion that gave the Rams a 28-8 lead. After the play, one DeSoto School player had his head buried in the turf, while another was sitting with a look on his face that said, “How did that guy just score?”
Shaw just smiled as the play was described to him. That play may have been the one Dantzler and Campbell were trying to make their own. They also could have been trying to mimic Shaw’s spin and juke that nearly went for a touchdown in the second quarter only to have him lose the ball on a strip inside the 5-yard line.
On this night, though, that strip turned out to be a distant memory. For Dantzler and Campbell, they will remember the cold and Shaw leaving defenders in his wake and Cunningham sprinting past Thunderbirds for touchdowns. In time, it will be their turn to work their magic. By then, the Rams will have new ball boys and Shaw might be one of the former players who are welcomed back to celebrate a piece of history.
“If they keep working hard, they will be there, too,” Shaw said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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