A fighting spirit and knowledge of the football program’s history fueled the Dorsey Dons to the second seed in the division I city section playoffs.
“This line right here, it feels like they really wanted to play football and they had the passion to win a game,” said senior quarterback Jerman Gotoy. “Like they had something to go out and get.”
Dorsey had a strong 8-3 overall campaign and only lost one game in the Coliseum League. The Undefeated Hawkins Hawks survived the Dons by a field goal kick in their 24-21 contest.
Charles Mincy, an alum of Dorsey, is at the helm as head coach. Mincy prioritizes teaching the traditions the program had when he played for the Dons in the 1980s.
“I think people see that we’re moving in the right direction,” said Mincy. “We got this group really focused.”
During the week leading to their rivalry game against Crenshaw High School, Mincy had the entire team watch a documentary about Kevin Copeland, a top wide receiver for Dorsey who succumbed to a heart attack at 17-years-old.
Former Seattle Seahawks running back Beno Bryant returned to talk about his time playing football, Dorsey, and the significance of the rivalry game. This led to the 42-14 thrashing of the Cougars in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“When you get the kids to buy in about the history of the program and what they’re actually playing for, I think you get more of a cohesiveness and you get that comradery with the kids,” said Ivan Stevenson, the defensive backs coach.
One of the many assets of the team is sophomore running back Charles Mincy, Jr., who has a background in track running.
“Eventually, I just dominated in running back because I was so fast,” Charles said.
Charles had 96 carries for 752 yards and earned six rushing touchdowns during the regular season, according to Maxpreps.
Playing against the St. Francis Golden Knights in September sharpened the skills of the Dons. They rallied from a harrowing 28-7 deficit in the second quarter to tie at 28 points early in the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights edged off the Dons in a 34-28 victory.
“I was able to make some clutch tackles in the end,” said sophomore defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux. “It just taught me to fight all the way to the end.”
Dorsey is second to the top seeded Narbonne Gauchos in the playoffs. Last year, the Gauchos defeated the Dons in the City Section Semifinals.
“We got beat pretty heartily by Narbonne in the playoffs and they went on to win state and rightfully so,” Mincy said. “We’ve got ground to make up.”
