Eric Dorsey earns Player of Week honors

Just a few short years ago, Eric Dorsey was merely a kid who enjoyed playing backyard football in Newark, Del.

Fast forward to the present, and Dorsey, a senior linebacker, has made a name for himself on the gridiron at Andalusia.

Most recently, Dorsey made a defensive read that turned into a pick six for his Bulldogs during Friday’s 41-0 rout of Wilcox Central.

With his interception return for a touchdown in addition to three quarterback pressures and three tackles in the game, Dorsey earned The Star-News’ Player of the Week honors.

It was just a simple play call, the 5-foot-8, 195-pound linebacker said.

“My tail (back) slanted and caused them to double team, and I just came under, and the quarterback threw it straight to me,” Dorsey said. “Then, I went straight to the end zone.”

Dorsey said he was originally aiming for the sack, but “by the time I got to the full back, he threw it straight to my hands.”

From there, the Bulldogs led 13-0 and added another TD to take a 21-0 lead after only 12 minutes of play.

Eric was born in Andalusia, but grew up in Newark. Since playing “organized football” was too expensive, he played football the “fun way,” with no pads.

“We played like we were in full pads,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It’s nothing like playing in organized football.”

AHS head football coach Brian Seymore said Dorsey has improved a lot this season.

“He’s really touched his game up,” Seymore said. “He’s a vocal leader and I’ve been very pleased with what he’s done for us this year.”

Dorsey comes from a long line of football players. His dad Ethan, played football at AHS, his older brother, Desmond Jones, who plays at the University of South Alabama; another brother, Terrance Salter, played football at AHS; and when he graduates, Eric will leave his legacy to his younger brother, Derrick, who is a sophomore for AHS.

Dorsey and the rest of the team will travel to Mobile this week to fight for a playoff berth against UMS-Wright in Class 4A, Region 1 action.

Andalusia currently sits at 5-2 overall, and 3-2 in the region, with its two losses coming to Thomasville and Clarke County. Andalusia sits at the No. 4 spot in the region with Escambia County, who the Bulldogs will play next week, nipping at its heels.

Dorsey said he thinks the season has gone “well” so far.

“We’ve had a lot of down talk on us being the under dogs,” he said. “A lot of people think we wouldn’t have won many games, but there’s been a lot of hard-working and effort a lot of times and then in the two games we lost, it was because of execution.

“Other than that, we’ve got a solid football team,” he said. “I think if we win this week, we’ll be fine and could make it past the first round (of the playoffs).”

Dorsey said his Bulldogs need to play a good game against UMS-Wright this week to have a chance to win.

“We’ve just got to come out and be focused and hit our marks, and we’ve just got to execute,” he said. “I know our defense is playing behind coach (Marshall) Locke and coach (Matt) Johnson, making sure we do everything right at practice and go full speed.”

When asked what his goals for the rest of the season are, Dorsey said the main one is to finish strong.

“We’re capable of it,” he said. “We have the potential to be a team to be reckoned with. It comes down to execution and wanting to play.”

Dorsey is also the son of Felecia Woods of Andalusia.