WEST POINT — Gunslinger. Playmaker. Leader.
All of the titles serve Ken “Buddy” Dill well.
But the senior quarterback prefers another word — captain — to describe the role he played this season for the Oak Hill Academy football team.
“I wanted to be a team leader and just wanted to help get the team as far as it could go,” Dill said.
Dill will get one more chance to help his team at 2 p.m. Friday when he plays for the Blue squad at the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) All-Star Football Game at Jackson Prep.
Dill will join Heritage Academy’s Tyler Anderson and Starkville Academy’s Dillon Carrell in the annual game that features the state’s top seniors. Heritage Academy’s Logan Sneed will play for the White team.
Dill led Oak Hill Academy by throwing for 1,560 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also rushed for 144 on 25 carries. Unfortunately, a season-ending injury to junior running back Collins Brown left the Raiders without one of their biggest threats on offense.
Dill, who missed most of the 2015 season with an injury, was forced to take on an even bigger role without Brown. He admitted it was hard at first adjusting to life without Brown, but he said he did his best to keep the team positive and in every game.
“We struggled to run the ball the whole year, especially after Collins went down,” Dill said. “I knew we were going to have to throw it a little bit more, and if I could get outside of the pocket and run it a little bit I needed to do that. I felt like I needed to do a little bit more than I normally would have if Collins hadn’t gotten hurt.
“I think I was ready to step up. I have been trying to get (Oak Hill Academy football) coach (Chris) Craven to throw the ball a little bit more anyway, so I enjoyed having a little bit more free range to play. I did enjoy throwing the ball a little bit more.”
Craven tweaked the attack to take advantage of Dill’s playmaking skills. He admitted with a smile that he didn’t always know how a play was going to turn out, but he said Dill’s ability to make something out of nothing, either with his sidearm release or by scrambling, was a key ingredient in the team’s success.
“He handled the responsibility of leading the team from the quarterback position well,” Craven said. “There were a lot of games we had to lean on his arm. … We also leaned on his speed on quarterback keeps to get him out in the open and let him run.
“It means a lot to him to get to play in the All-Star Game. He is really pumped up to get to play football one last time.”
Dill said he had a lot of confidence to make things happen, even if sometimes the results came in unconventional ways. He also admitted he had too much confidence, but he said his ability to throw on the run improved, which enabled him to keep plays alive.
“I was never scared to make a throw,” Dill said.
Dill said he is excited to play football one last time. He also is looking forward to his senior season on the Oak Hill Academy baseball team. A standout shortstop, Dill said he has received interest from East Mississippi Community College in Scooba and Holmes C.C. in Goodman. He feels confident he will be able to realize his goal and continue his baseball career at the next level.
Craven said he is proud Dill will get a final opportunity to play football because he said it has been a “privilege” to coach a student-athlete who has done so much for so many teams at the school.
“Not all high school coaches get to have someone who has a young man with that type of desire, heart, and ability,” Craven said. “I have been coaching Buddy since he started playing football. It has been a privilege to watch him grow and to help him learn and to use his God-given ability to help his team.”
On Friday, tough, one chapter will close on a career that solidified Dill’s status as a gunslinger, playmaker, leader, and, most importantly as a captain.
“I was hoping to get the chance,” Dill said. “Ever since we have been done, I have been wanting to play one more time. This isn’t the way I wanted to play. I would have liked to have played in a playoff game, but I will try to enjoy this as much as I can, especially since this will be my last time to play.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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