DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Some of Taron Dickens’ earliest memories are of Traz Powell Stadium. Torrence Dickens, the freshman’s older brother, played at Northwestern earlier this decade and the quarterback grew up running around the field. He was indoctrinated into the Bulls way from a young age. He’s the nephew of Teddy Bridgewater and grew up idolizing the former Northwestern star.
The two quarterbacks have been close since Dickens was about 6. When he was young, Dickens went up to Kentucky a few times to watch Bridgewater play for the Louisville Cardinals. Now they text on a weekly - sometimes daily - basis, just talking about football like quarterbacks do. On the eve of Dickens’ first state-championship experience, he heard from one of the most successful quarterbacks in Bulls history.
“He told me what to do last night, motivated me, telling what they were going to do in the game,” Dickens said.
On Saturday (Dec. 14), Dickens did something Bridgewater never could in his three years at Northwestern’s starting quarterback. The freshman guided the Bulls to their Miami-Dade County-record seventh state title with a 34-17 win against Orlando Jones in Daytona Beach and he was more than just a game manager. Dickens went 18 of 24 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, including a 7-yard score to star wide receiver Romello Brinson with 3:12 left to seal the 34-17 win.
Jones was intent on stopping Northwestern’s ground game and it had some success early. Star running back Nathaniel Noel ran for just 32 yards on 11 carries in the first half. The Bulls (13-2) had to turn to Dickens earlier than they had hoped and he rose to the challenge. Dickens went 16 of 22 for 218 yards in the first half and threw a 17-yard touchdown to star wide receiver Marcus Fleming in the second quarter to help Northwestern go into halftime tied 14-14 at Daytona Stadium.
“We was trying to take it easy and try to make sure that we didn’t put too much on his shoulders early,” quarterbacks coach Jackson Dykes said, “but, like you said, they took away the run, so we had no choice but to put it on his back and he handled the situation great.”
Dykes never really had a moment he doubted his quarterback this season. Dickens had a reputation as a youth star before he even suited up for the Bulls. In sixth grade, Dickens guided Broward County to a Football University National Championship. Dykes quickly saw how hard the quarterback worked in the offseason, so he knew the Bulls would be able to trust him.
Although he began the season as Northwestern’s backup, Dickens quickly took over in an August win against Cardinal Gibbons and never relinquished command. He helped the Bulls beat Carol City the next week, then traveled to Bradenton the following week to face IMG Academy. The Bulls lost, but Ronald Delancy III knew then they would be fine.
The two grew up together and played Optimist Youth Football together. Delancy remembers the day Dickens showed up for his first practice and told the coaches he was the quarterback. The coaches decided to give him a shot and Dickens has been a starter ever since.
“It was IMG and he ain’t fold under pressure,” the star defensive back said. “He went out there with the same intensity he had in practice.”
Anytime he ran into challenges, Dickens had a professional he could lean on.
Bridgewater has had a busy season. He started five games early in the season for the New Orleans Saints, going 5-0 with Drew Brees injured. Bridgewater is never shy about how much he cares about the Bulls, though, and this year it meant squeezing in some Northwestern film study to go along with his NFL work.
“He always mentored me, texts me before the games,” Dickens said. “He’d be watching film, helping me out, taking care of me - all type of stuff.”
Bridgewater came down to Miami last month to watch the Bulls punch their ticket to the Class 5A championship. He watched from the sidelines at Traz as Dickens helped Northwestern beat Tampa Jesuit in the 5A semifinals.
After the game, Bridgewater shared one big piece of advice for Dickens: Stop forcing things. He reiterated it on the phone Friday when the two talked ahead of the game.
He never did force anything against the Tigers (13-2) on Saturday. Most of his throws were screens or curls and he checked out of at least one deep throw to scramble for a short gain in the red zone.
In 2008, Bridgewater was a first-year starting quarterback like Dickens, trying to lead the Bulls to a third straight state title. He took Northwestern all the way to Orlando and came up just short, blowing a 21-point lead to Sanford Seminole.
More than a decade later, he could live vicariously through his nephew.
“Wanna know how much I love my school? I cried knowing I couldn’t watch the game because we had practice,” Bridgewater wrote on Facebook shortly after the win. “Today those guys did something that we failed to do back in 08, completed the 3 PEAT!! Congrats to my boys man and thank you to everyone that played a role in making this season a special season!”
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