Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Since March, everything Washington’s A.J. Dallmayer has touched has turned to nothing but success.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
His junior baseball season saw his Blue Lions with a share of the FAC title before the team claimed its first district championship since 2007. During that stretch, Dallmayer received honorable mention All-Ohio honors after batting .328 alongside a pair of home runs, 10 doubles, 22 runs scored and 22 RBIs.
That momentum he created from baseball season has carried over to the gridiron, where he’s been a huge part of the Blue Lions’ 6-1 start to the season.
“We put in a lot of work this offseason and we all bonded really well,” Dallmayer said of the team’s success. “I feel like everyone is believing that we can do it and it gets everyone motivated.”
The senior wide receiver has been the Blue Lions’ top target since he stepped foot on the varsity field and he’s only gotten better with every passing season.
Catching the ball has always been natural for him. But it’s the little things he emphasized working on during the offseason that’s helped him take his game to a new level while helping his team reach new heights.
“I worked on lots of things. Some small things, like better blocking and better cuts in routes, but a major thing was being more physical,” Dallmayer said. “Football is a rough sport and I knew that coming into the season I needed to be stronger and more aggressive during the games. I feel like this helped me become harder to tackle and allowed me to get more yards after a catch and help the offense in any way I can.”
Piling up those catches and the yards after over the years has paid off this season in a huge way.
Two weeks ago, during the Blue Lions’ victory over Hillsboro, he set a new school record for receiving yards in a career, surpassing Eli Lynch’s previous high mark.
Then, last week against McClain, he broke another school record for receptions in a career, a record additionally held by Lynch.
Dallmayer’s receiving totals currently sit at 137 catches for 1,893 yards and 16 touchdowns for his career — and still counting.
“I knew before the season how close I was and for a while it’s all I thought about, how cool it would be to see my name in the record books and be a part of Court House history. I was so excited when I finally got it and I felt so proud of how far I’d come in my football career. It’s just an amazing feeling knowing that you’ve made some history,” Dallmayer said. “I’m more proud of the most receptions record though. I’ve always been proud of how my hands are and the effort I go through to make some catches. I feel like it really shows my ability to catch.”
Dallmayer is just three touchdowns away from a third school record for career touchdown catches.
So far this year, he and quarterback Troy Thompson have connected on four scores, and that connection isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
“Last year, Troy and I were on the same page and throughout the year we made a lot of improvement. But during this summer, we both just talked to each other often and realized we are an essential part of the offense and this team’s success,” Dallmayer said. “Just like some of the other senior leaders, we knew we had to be on the same page and better than ever. So whenever I made a mistake, he would correct me with respect. If he did something I didn’t like, we would talk about it and that really helped us understand each other.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
As they head into Friday’s first place matchup at Chillicothe, Dallmayer understands the tough part of the season is just beginning.
First come the Cavaliers, then Jackson next Friday before a crosstown rivalry is renewed against Miami Trace to end the regular season. But if the Blue Lions manage to win two of those games, that would give them, at bare minimum, a share of the FAC title.
However, they want more than just the conference crown.
This team believes in itself and thinks it has all the potential in the world to make a playoff run. With Dallmayer, alongside a stable of capable receivers on the outside hauling in passes, anything is possible.
“Winning the conference would mean everything for me and the team. It’s all we’ve been talking about and it’s some more of our motivation. It’s definitely one of our goals for this year,” Dallmayer said. “While we’ve been having great success against all the teams we’ve played, we still have a lot of potential on the team. I really think our possibilities are endless and we could do some damage in the postseason. I think we could go easily two or three rounds deep and still have a good chance for success after that.”
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