'Sea Bass' to remain a part of Dexter FB despite injury

DEXTER – Dexter High School football coach Chad Jamerson has devoted his entire professional career to working with young people, both in the classroom, as well as on athletic fields. He’s enjoyed the highs of his kids winning state championships, and for the second straight autumn, he has to witness the sorrow and frustration of a senior football player getting injured and losing his final year of eligibility.

“Anytime young men lose games,” Jamerson said during the 2022 season when Bearcat senior Kaeden Kennedy suffered a knee injury, “or loses time on the field, you really feel for them.”

This fall, it is senior offensive/defensive lineman Sebastian Ford (aka “Sea bass,” to his teammates and coaches).

Ford was working out this summer at Charles Bland Stadium with his teammates when he injured his knee, thus ending his final months of football.

“We were getting in some extra work after weightlifting,” Ford explained, “and I got hit funny and I tore my ACL. It hurt for about five minutes.

“I was able to get home and I realized that something was wrong after a few hours.”

Ford was part of an evolving group of offensive and defensive linemen, who endured growing pains a year ago, but are expected to be a stout group this fall.

“You just can’t say enough about (seniors) Landon Weathers, Garrett Coons, and (junior) Caleb Gott,” Jamerson said recently of his front defensive three. “Those three, right now, are the guys starting on the defensive line. “They had a great off-season and I thought they did a really good job of anchoring down the line of scrimmage and doing their job, which is what we preach.”

Ford had visions of being part of that foundation for success, but following the injury, he has taken a remarkably mature view of the situation.

“At first, it was really frustrating,” Ford said. “But then, I remembered that everything happens for a reason. I pray every day, and I know that this happened for a reason.”

Like Jamerson, Ford, who attends every practice and game, and is observing every snap of his former position group, has high expectations for the guys up front.

“They really have hit the weight room hard,” Ford said of his teammates. “They’re a lot stronger, and they are a lot smarter than they were last year. They know what is going on right now.”

Ford is going to soak up every moment of Bearcat's success this fall. Even though he won’t be out on the field contributing as a player, he’s going to lend vocal instruction and support to the best of his ability.

“I’m going to root on my guys,” Ford said. “I may not be able to play, but they’re still my team.”

Ford has wrapped up his three-year playing career and leaves the beautiful turf of Charles Bland Stadium with nothing but fond memories.

“I love the competition,” Ford said of football. “Everyone is always rallying around each other.

“We’re all friends here.”

Anything else?

“And I loved hitting people,” Ford laughed.

“Sea Bass” already has his future mapped out, literally, following his graduation from Dexter High School next spring.

He has plans to “go to a trade school and then take over one of my grandpa’s companies.”

Sebastian’s grandfather is Jeffrey Ford, who owns and operates Ford Trucking.

The Bearcats will open their 2023 regular season today at Charles Bland Stadium against Scott City at 8 p.m. (a later time has been set due to the excessive heat).