By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DAYTON, Ore.– The Dayton Football team was able to close out their annual Dewey Sullivan Youth Football Camp outdoors on Thursday evening after spending the first two days of the camp in the gym due to wildfire smoke.
But, as much as the kids were chomping at the bit to go outdoors for the camp, the current crop of Pirate football players and their coaches felt the same way as they closed out the three-day camp.
“It’s a really great experience for the kids. I wish I would’ve done it when I was younger…it’s a great experience for all the kids out here and learn all these things that we’re teaching them, so they can they can use it and help better our future as well,” said incoming Dayton Senior Brody Jimenez. “Try to uplift and make the Dayton Pirate experience a lot better than it has been in the past.”
Jimenez, who played center for Dayton last season in their 9-1 season, returns to the position this Fall. An undersized lineman, it’s drives the Pirate lineman to show that he’s capable of meeting the grind required of him to play the position.
“It’s driven me a lot. It’s driven me…I’ve been trying to put on a lot more weight so I can compete with the people at my position and there’s a lot of good people in my position right now. It’s driven me a lot yo have a better mentality than I have,” said Jimenez. “The most that I can do to embrace (this last year) is to take every rep as much as I can and do everything I can possible. Do all the little things, so I would feel like I’m not missing out of what I could have done.”
The Pirates will kick off the season August 17 with their first official practice and with their first game of the year coming September 4 against Salem Academy.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
