Sermon Service and Electric Student Athlete of the Week – October 9, 2024

SUGAR CITY, Idaho (KIFI) – Before this past weekend, the Sugar-Salem Diggers football team had lost back-to-back games. That is the first time that has happened since 2021.

But after this past weekend, I went to Sugar City to catch up with our Athlete of the Week Dawson McInelly to see how a team builds back from that.

"We just gotta bounce back," Dawson said. "gotta get lots of energy. Got to believe in ourselves and just bounce back the best we can."

And they did just that, notching a big win against Preston, in which Dawson played a key role.

The senior registered 145 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, six tackles, a tackle for loss, and one 64-yard punt.

Head Coach of Sugar-Salem Tyler Richins praised the senior's efforts.

"having big explosive plays, having somebody that's able to grind out yards for you, obviously put your offense in an advantage and also your defense and an advantage." Said Richins, "just being able to control the time of possession and, and keep the ball out of their hands. And so being able to have a reliable running back like Dawson, to be able to turn out those tough yards and secure the football is really important to us."

And Dawson doesn't just play running back for this team. As his stat line shows, he plays multiple positions for this squad.

McInelly told me, "I like to play wherever coach wants me, wherever I can make an impact on the team. So I'll play running back, I'll play a little bit of receiver and I punt and play linebacker."

After this big win, I asked Dawson what he thought about how the team rebounded. He gives tons of credit to the man in charge.

"I mean, coach is a great leader." He said. "He helps us and coaches us hard, which is good for us."

And Coach Richins returned the compliments to the senior.

"So Dawson has been, has been an integral part of our, our program for the last, especially the last three years. He's played varsity since he's a sophomore. He's that, calm, cool, steady guy that everybody can look to as, as, you know, when things get hard, things get tough. You know, Dawson is not losing his mind. He's focused."

A leader by example. Congratulations to our athlete of the week, Dawson McInelly of Sugar-Salem High School.

If you know an athlete who had a big week – let us know! Send your submissions to sports@localnews8.com.