As everyone who follows Covington football knows, the Chargers don’t pass a lot.
But when they went to the air over the past two seasons, there was a good chance No. 3 was going to be on the receiving end.
Dalton Dickerson, a 6-3, 176-pound wideout, averaged 21 yards per catch in his two seasons at Covington. Despite those impressive stats, Dickerson was still looking for a college when he graduated last month.
“I was losing hope a little bit on getting a scholarship because it was getting near the end of the school year,” Dickerson said. “I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do.”
Three weeks ago he heard about a camp at Bethel University for unsigned seniors. He took part in the camp and the coaching staff liked what they saw. Two days later he accepted a scholarship.
“He’s long, athletic, can run … just a dynamic kid,” Covington head coach J.R. Kirby said. “He grew up a lot this year. He was a big weapon for us and we’re going to miss him. I think this is a great opportunity for him. If he goes up there and works he can be a playmaker for them.”
Dickerson caught 11 passes last fall for 246 yards and six touchdowns. One of his highlights was a 36-yard last-second touchdown catch vs. Milan in Week 7. He broke multiple tackles on the way to the end zone and the score forced overtime.
In 2019 he caught eight passes for 154 yards, including a TD catch vs. Brighton, the school he attended as a freshman and sophomore. He finished his career with 19 catches for 400 yards and eight scores, and was also one of the area’s best punters.
“I tried to get my name out there and it wasn’t really working out,” Dickerson said about the recruiting process. “Once Bethel called it was like a light came on. It’s pretty exciting.”
Dickerson has plans to visit the campus again in the coming weeks to learn more about the school. He thanked Kirby for keeping him motivated.
“Coach Kirby, he really pushed me. Sometimes when he would see I was down he would tell me I had to keep pushing. He really pushed me to succeed and do well in school as well as football.”
