Former Abilene High and Howard Payne football player Danny Dudgeon, who spent the last six years as the offensive coordinator at Abilene Cooper, landed his first head coaching position when he was named the new head coach at Clyde.
“It’s been a goal since I got into the profession,” Dudgeon said of becoming a head coach when he was hired in March. “It means a whole lot. It’s not an easy process, and obviously there are a lot of people that want to be able to say that they’ve accomplished that goal. But at the same time, my wife and I were extremely selective on where we were willing to look. We wanted to find a place that’d be the right fit for us and our family.
He inherits a team that returns six starters on both offense and defense from a squad that finished 4-7 overall and 3-2 in District 3-3A Division I a year ago.
Dudgeon, who plans on installing a power spread offense and a 3-4 defensive alignment, must decide on a new quarterback after last year’s starter graduated. Sophomore QB/LB Blake Carr appears to be the most likely candidate to take over the Bulldogs’ offense. He completed his only varsity pass as a freshman for a 29-yard touchdown.
Look for Clyde to score points. Dudgeon’s offense at Cooper averaged 47.6 points per game last fall. Carr will be throwing to pair of experienced receivers in WR/DB Garis Gray (5-72 receiving) and Chris Hurley (2-42, 1 TD receiving).
OL/DL Zane Hall will anchor the Bulldogs up front.
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