Anthony Dodd has a lot of good football memories from his career at Toledo Christian High School.

The fact that he can remember any of them is a minor miracle.

“One of the most memorable things would be making it through the whole season without getting hurt,” said Dodd, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior. “It was a really good year overall. This has been the closest group of kids we've had. It was a fun year.”

Dodd helped fifth-year coach John Miller's Eagles win their first outright Toledo Area Athletic Conference championship and qualify for the Division VI playoffs for the second time in school history.

Dodd, who lives in Oregon, played offensive guard and earned first-team All-TAAC honors as a defensive lineman. He's also played some at linebacker.

“Anthony is a real physical player,” Miller said. “He's your typical linebacker-type kid, but we used him on our defensive line because of his athleticism and we wanted to show that off. He was willing to step in and help us out in that area.”

Because of concussions and other various injuries, Dodd never got to play a full season for the Eagles. He said he wasn't even going to go out for the team this year, but he got the OK from a neurologist after missing the Eagles' first two games. In his first game back, against visiting Fort Loramie, Dodd had eight tackles including two sacks in Toledo Christian's 28-7 victory.

Anthony Dodd

“My freshman year I was going to play a little bit on the varsity, but I had shoulder injuries and a bad concussion,” Dodd said. “I was on the kickoff team and I hit some kid and my helmet went to the side. My sophomore year I was starting on the varsity at fullback and got another concussion. I came back and played another couple games before I pulled an abdominal muscle and had a hip flexor.

“My junior year we were at a scrimmage against Gibsonburg and I got a serious concussion. I was knocked out for two minutes. I was at linebacker and I had a head-on collision with their fullback.”

Dodd made the most of the eight games he played this season. He finished with 48 solo tackles and 15 assists, with 10 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He also had an interception, which he returned for more than 50 yards in a loss at Ada.

Toledo Christian's 20-16 win over Northwood on Oct. 22 was the highlight of Dodd's career. The win clinched at least a tie for the TAAC title, which the Eagles won outright the following week with a win over Ottawa Hills.

“We haven't beaten Northwood in six years,” Dodd said, “and that was pretty much for the TAAC championship. That probably wasn't the best game I had, but it was an 11-man (defensive) effort and I helped keep the defense going.”

Dodd is also a standout first baseman and pitcher for the Eagles' baseball team, and he is one of the top power lifters for TC's power lifting team. He earned first-team all-conference honors in baseball as a sophomore, and he was a second-team pick as a junior.

Dodd has been on Coach Doug Nostrant's power lifting team since the eighth grade.

“His dedication to the weight room is evident,” Miller said. “He's a very strong individual.”

Dodd said he can bench-press 330 pounds, squat 540 pounds and dead lift 530 pounds.

“I plan on going to the state meet this year,” he said. “I couldn't go last year because of baseball.”

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed