PREP FOOTBALL: Dingle focuses on wins, not stats (8/29)

By CHUCK JONES cjones@thenewsenterprise.com RADCLIFF — John Hardin junior quarterback Alex Dingle doesn’t bother looking at or trying to remember his statistics from last season. John Hardin coach Mark Brown can recall exactly a couple of them right off his head and he is just astounded it came from a first-year sophomore starter. “He had a great year,” Brown said. “He had a lot of talent around him and the defense put him in some good positions. But 20 touchdowns and three interceptions is phenomenal.” Last season, Dingle completed 49.6 percent of his passes for 1,175 yards and 20 touchdowns. He only threw three interceptions in 141 attempts. Not to mention, Dingle helped guide the Bulldogs to a perfect 10-0 regular season and a 12-1 record overall with his first loss as a high school starter coming to powerhouse Bowling Green in the Class 5-A quarterfinals. “I don’t pay attention to that at all,” Dingle said of his personal statistics. “As long as we’re winning and we have good team unity, I’m fine with it. I could throw 15 interceptions, but if we win State, I’m happy with it. It’s not about stats; it’s not about individuals. It’s more of a team thing. Winning is the only thing that matters.” Dingle is the only full-time returning starter at quarterback in the seven-team area. He could have an equally impressive second season, but Brown said his statistics might not be as gaudy as last year. “We open with a lot tougher team and we have a tough schedule,” Brown said. “He could have a good year and still not equal what he had last year.” This season, Dingle, a 5-foot-10, 181-pound junior, is far ahead of where he was at this time a year ago. Brown said Dingle worked hard in the offseason in all facets of his game. “I thought he showed a lot of improvement in the summer passing leagues,” Brown said. “He has command of the passing game and the running game. He spent a lot of time in the weight room. He’s a little quicker this year. He’s a better runner than he showed last year.” Dingle said he was slowed last season by a nagging hamstring injury. He hurt it against Warren Central in the third game of the season and it never felt quite right the rest of the season. “I did a lot more running after the season,” Dingle said. “I worked more in the weight room. I thought I was strong enough, but I learned I had to work harder.” With a season under his belt, Brown said Dingle has displayed in the two preseason scrimmages an ability to check off at the line of scrimmage. Last season, Dingle seldom changed the play from what Brown sent in. “It comes with experience,” Dingle said. “I see where the defensive line and the linebackers are and I know what will and won’t work. Last year, I was thinking about so much before going to the line of scrimmage every play. It comes more natural this year.” That’s not the only thing that comes more natural. Dingle is working with senior wideouts Tim Marcum and Sherrod Moore for the second consecutive season. Marcum, the team’s leading receiver, caught 22 passes for 397 yards and seven touchdowns, while Moore and senior Chris White are expected to be more involved in the offense this season. “This year it’s a lot easier,” Dingle said. “Last year, we had a couple of mix ups at the line; I wanted them to break out and they broke in. We have our signals down this year and I’m on the same page. I have confidence in all of them.” Most of all, Dingle has confidence in himself. “This year, I’m a lot more comfortable,” Dingle said. “We have a great team coming back. We’ve been working hard in the weight room together and we’ve been working together since the end of last season. I’m a lot more at ease this year. I’m a lot more confident.” That’s something that doesn’t show up in statistics. Chuck Jones can be reached at 505-1759