Class A-Division I Blog: A glance at Dodge County

With tons of talent across the board in Class A-Division I, it is easy to overlook a handful of teams that will be in contention this season in the race for the state championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Dodge County Indians flew under the radar last season and are back in 2025 in full force after returning tons of talent from last year's 9-3 season.

Following a 1-9 season in 2023, the Indians bounced back in a major way in 2024 by winning nine games for the first time since 2018.

The Indians were under new management in 2024 as they hired Phillip Brown to lead their program, leading Dodge County to the second round for the first time since 2019.

In Brown’s first season in the program, he led the Indians to an eight-game win-streak before the team dropped their final two games of the regular season. Dodge County defeated Chattooga 40-14 in the first round before losing to Worth County in the second round.

Last season the Indians were led by Alabama-commit, linebacker Duke Johnson as he led the Indians in total rushing yards (1097) and total tackles (122) before making his way to Tuscaloosa.

Even with the departure of Johnson, Dodge County returns tons of talent on both sides of the ball.

Rising-junior quarterback Kain Mincey is entering his second season as the starting quarterback where he threw for 1,242 yards a year ago and 15 touchdowns while also scoring four by using his legs on the ground. For the Indians to remain a consistent contender this season, they are going to need Mincey to continue distributing the ball around to his playmakers on the outside.

One of the main pieces of this Dodge County offense heading into the new season is rising-junior Jerimiah Burns who was used in many facets of the Indians offense a season ago.

Burns totaled 1,406 all-purpose yards a season ago where his was impactful in the offensive scheme as well as special teams. He caught 23 passes for 484 receiving yards and six touchdowns through the air, totaled 202 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown and accumulated 660 yards on special teams as he returned kicks for the Indians.

Returning for his junior season, look for Burns to become a major focal point of this offense in 2025.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Landon Sheffield and junior linebacker Kawasaki Robinson combined for 105 tackles in 2024 as they are poised for another big year as they both step into much larger roles.

Dodge County begins the 2025 season with a test at home against Bleckley County in its first game of the season on August 22.

‍