This time last year the warriors football team was being led by seniors Ian Reynolds, Chase Linton, and Ben Diedrich. These young men helped the Dubs capture their first region championship in school history, and finished with the most winning record of any class to ever come through the football program. Now these three are playing college football at the division one level at their own respective programs.
Every football team needs a leader, and every football team needs a winning quarterback. Luckily for Coach Aull and the Warriors, Ian Reynolds was both. Reynolds held the reins for the offense for a little over two seasons where he threw for 4000 yards, 40 touchdowns, and completed over 60% of his passes. He is currently enrolled at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and is travelling on the travel team. Reynolds sure does miss being a Dub but the Keydets have been treating him well. “The coaches and players here have treated me like family,” he said. “But I sure do miss being a Dub.”
Although the quarterback is very important, they wouldn’t be anything without the big men up front, battling in the trenches every play to protect them from the fierce defensive lineman. Last year, offensive tackle Ben Diedrich led the offensive line giving up only a few sacks and dominating in the run game. Diedrich committed to Wofford College back in January and has been on campus since June grinding with the team. However, college football isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. “The workouts have been super tough, guys let it get the best of them all the time,” he said.
What is a football team without their anchor on defense? The Warriors sure do miss Chase Linton holding down the defensive line for them last year. Linton had over 30 sacks and 50 tackles for loss as a 3-year-starter for the Warriors. Opposing teams feared Linton, each offensive coordinator that we played tried everything they could to minimize his impact on the field. This rarely ever worked as he dominated in every game he played as a Dub. Almost every program in the nation wanted Linton to call their university home, yet Linton stayed in Georgia to be a “dawg.” He now practices with some of the best players in the nation everyday. “It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s hard to beat being a Bulldog,” he said.
All of these former dubs will be truly missed when those lights shine bright on Friday nights. Yet it’s hard to miss them too much as they are living out their dreams playing division one football.
