Bishop Dunne Senior Football Standouts are Scholar Athletes on both Offense and Defense
QB Micah Simon and Defensive Back Dailen Sutton Have Ivy League Offers
“The teachers seem to genuinely care about the success of the students. And little did we know that Dailen would become a very active contributor to an already talented football team as well. He has several Division 1 scholarship offers to play football at the next level including offers from Yale, Cornell, Air Force, College of the Holy Cross and Miami of Ohio just to name a few.” – Bishop Dunne Parent
Micah Javon Simon wants to be the best Scholar Athlete he can be, not just to bring his Falcon team to a state championship, but to be a good role model for his little brother, five-year-old Cameron.
A member of New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Micah has spent many a Sunday in church praying about his future. A tri-athlete, Micah plays football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and runs track in the spring. Meets are held all day on Saturdays, so sleeping in on Sunday mornings sounds good to him. “But it doesn’t happen,” he says, because he knows what’s important: God, family, and Bishop Dunne.
Micah is one of a few dozen students who made up the first 6th grade class at Bishop Dunne. “Mr. Ratliff was my favorite teacher that year,” Micah remembers. “I love math and he’s such a great teacher. I totally understand why he was honored as Oak Cliff’s Middle School Teacher of the Year in the spring,” Micah says.
He came from Belt Line Intermediate School in Cedar Hill, where he felt he wasn’t learning as much as he could. “My mother began looking around and we found Bishop Dunne and came by for a visit,” he explains, adding, “I knew right away I wanted to go here.” Thrilled to hear a new 6th grade was being created for the fall, Micah was ready to become a part of something special. “I thought it was a really great opportunity to come here, and felt right at home immediately,” he declares.
Head Basketball Coach Michael Alfers became his champion, and as Micah got better on the basketball court, he found himself playing against the older kids. He’s been playing organized basketball since the 2nd grade and football for ten years, too. Head football Coach Michael Johnson also recognized his skill with a ball, and had him backing up senior quarterback Brooks Teter on the Varsity squad in his freshman year. Micah became the starting quarterback in his sophomore year, and last year he had his best season yet. He was five-foot-ten-inches as a junior, but now reaches six-foot-one inch. He’s hoping to reach his father’s height, six-foot-four, soon, so he can see over giant defensive linemen to better control the game. But he’s already been successful.
Micah showed his toughness last year by beating cross-town rival Bishop Lynch at home. It was a big win, but for Micah, the Lincoln game two weeks before was the one where he overcame the most to pull through a 42-41 victory. “I got hit from behind and sprained my ankle in the first quarter,” he admits now, “so I told Coach Tye just to go ahead and tape it. We lost badly to Lincoln the year before, and there was no way I was going to leave that game or lose to them again.” At halftime his ankle was iced and re-taped, and Micah went out on the field on pure adrenaline, and brought home a victory. Micah passed for three touchdowns and ran for one, completing over 200 yards passing, and another 100 rushing.
By the time the BL game came, Micah was still limping, but had already been through the worst. For the first time in over 20 years, Bishop Dunne beat Bishop Lynch, 17 – 13 at home before a capacity crowd, as a result of what Micah says was “sheer will power.” Micah says his teammates and their coaches–“had just had enough of losing to those guys.” He considers Nick Watkins one of his best friends, and wanted to win it for him. Their lockers were side by side, so they talked a lot. Micah takes great pride in beating Bishop Lynch, claiming that winning that game was the “greatest feeling.” Watkins is a freshman at Notre Dame now, playing for the football team.
This year Micah and his teammates had a 9 – 1 record and were District Champions before their final regular season game.
Last week, after not scoring any points in the first half, the team trailed 0 – 10. Then “Micah put his cape back on,” said Head Football Coach Michael Johnson, and Micah ran for a touchdown with eight minutes left in the third quarter, passed to A.D. Miller for a second touchdown to tie up the game 13 – 13 as the fourth quarter began, then ran for two more touchdowns and a 20 – 13 win. A super hero effort, aided by a fired up defense, and the Falcons are headed for the State Championship for the first time since 1990.
On Saturday Simon scored on runs of 24 and 10 on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter to put the semi-final game away.
Meanwhile, on Defense, Senior Dailen Sutton recovered a fumble with 4:13 remaining to prevent any hope of a comeback by Antonian. Both seniors have multiple college offers including BYU, Air Force, Yale, and Grambling State for Simon.
“Transferring Dailen to Bishop Dunne has been one of the best decisions we have made for Dailen’s collegiate future,” says Bobby Sutton, father of Dailen. “Bishop Dunne has challenged him academically in ways we would have never imagined. The transition was not an easy one and he learned at Dunne very quickly that you get out what you put in. Dalien has had a very successful senior year at Dunne and is currently ranked in the top 10 of his class.”
Mr. Sutton goes on to say, “The teachers seem to genuinely care about the success of the students. And little did we know that Dailen would become a very active contributor to an already talented football team as well. He has several Division 1 scholarship offers to play football at the next level including offers from Yale, Cornell, Air Force, College of the Holy Cross and Miami of Ohio just to name a few. Dailen’s dream school is Rice University in Houston where he wants to pursue studies in pre-med.”
Simon’s GPA is an impressive 3.7 and he plans to keep it high because his sights are set on going to the best college he can. Stanford is his first choice. “I’d love to play for Stanford,” he admits, “so that’s my goal.” Of course his best friend, Nick Watkins, Class of 2014, is playing for Notre Dame. Is there a possibility he’ll be back throwing footballs into the end zone to Watkins, to catch? “Now that would be truly awesome,” he says with a smile.
He’s setting his goals high, because he’s not just playing for himself. He’s playing for God; for his team and all the Falcon fans in the stands; for his parents Michael and Curtique; and for his little brother, who looks up to him. “I want him to be proud of me.” Micah says simply.
Word has it, he already is.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
– 2 Timothy 4:7, 8
For more informaton on Bishop Dunne Catholic School see the school's website: www.bdcs.org or www.dunnesports.com. For information on admission, contact Charleen Doan at cdoan@bdcs.org. The school has grades 6th - 12th.