Gridiron Blog
The Gridiron Blog brings you the scores, stats and stories from Fredericksburg-area high school football.
Player of the Week: Dadzie leaves foes with Kwesie feeling
BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH
At halftime of North Stafford’s game against Mountain View last Friday, Wolverines coach Joe Mangano turned to his statistician with a quick question.
“How many yards does Kwesie have?” Mangano asked.
At the time, North Stafford running back Kwesie Dadzie had 10 carries for 53 yards.
Mangano had seen Dadzie’s burst and he had seen the holes created by the offensive line, so he knew the second-half game plan would be simple: Get Kwesie the ball.
The senior had 20 carries in the second half and finished the game with 30 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns, helping North Stafford to a 35–13 win over the Wildcats.
Dadzie has been named The Free Lance–Star’s high school football player of the week.
“I just felt like he was getting in a rhythm right before the half,” Mangano said. “We discussed at the half that we’d kind of get him loose and really hopefully put the game away.”
Mountain View’s coaches might have been stunned to see Dadzie’s explosion.
After all, he was a seldom-used backup to Kevin Daniels last season. And he sat out the Wolverines’ season-opener against Potomac while serving a suspension for an altercation in a playoff game last year.
But Mangano had seen Dadzie’s improvement in the offseason, and he had a sense that big games were on the way.
“He’ll grind out three, four and five yards, and then he’ll bust out a 20- or 30-yard run,” Mangano said. “He’s willing to just kind of get his shoulders square, plant his outside foot and go downhill.”
Both of Dadzie’s touchdowns came in the second half on Friday, the second being a 17-yard rumble.
“We saw that they couldn’t contain the outside,” Dadzie said after the game. “So we just started running outside.”
Mangano said Dadzie thrives in North Stafford’s zone-blocking scheme, and he is confident more big games will follow.
But Mangano said Dadzie must be prepared for the heavy workload.
“One thing with him is just continuing with his conditioning,” Mangano said. “He’s got to be ready to get 20 carries a game, and just be mentally prepared for it.”
Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com
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This season’s Free Lance–Star football players of the week:
Week 1: Javonte Latney, Massaponax RB
Week 2: Tyus White, Brooke Point WR
Week 3: Kwesie Dadzie, North Stafford RB
