Minnesota State University Moorhead

Four years ago, the journey of eight young Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons began. With the regular season coming to a close in the upcoming weeks, that journey will soon be at an end. The Dragons honor the eight seniors for all their hard work and dedication, through the good times and the bad.

For many, the Dragons last home game against the St. Cloud State Huskies will be the last time they can watch this group of grid iron warriors showcase their talents.  But for these players, it is a time to show determination, perseverance, and passion for the sport many have played their entire lives.

Since they started at MSUM, this group of seniors has come to view each other at a level above teammates.

“We feel like we know each other better than our immediate family,” Running back Enol Gillies said. “You can ask any one of us a question about one another and we can tell you everything about that guy.”

Each player has come to a unique story in his own right. One of the more popular ones is wide out Joe Johnson. “I have seen dozens of guys give up after what he(Johnson) has been through,” Enol remarked. His senior teammates describe him as one of the most reliable players on the team.

Another might be Enol Gillies who plays like anything but a 5’6’’ running back.

“He’s got a big heart and he has pushed our team for four years,” Nose guard Jon Swart said. “He is one of my best teammates and one of the hardest working guys on this team and just a good guy all around,” defensive end Robbie Wilhelm said about Enol.

While Wilhelm remains injured his dedication and hard work never took a day off. After having ACL surgery last season, Wilhelm did all he could to come back this season and even after reinjuring the same knee; Wilhelm never took a day off, helping to coach his teammates.

Wilhelm compares himself to Reggie White because of his pure animal instincts and his reckless abandonment that Robbie plays with every day.

“He went from starting to scout after his injury and was still messing guys up in practice because he never quits,” Gillies told me.

All of these guys lead by example but no one is more vocal than linebacker Phil Pryor. A man who compares himself to Ray Lewis because of his loud and intense presence on the field, Pryor raises the energy of his teammates in critical situations.

“Even when a coach says something and you know you should be quiet, Phil will say something back,” Johnson remarked about Pryor.

His vocal nature in the locker room and on the field is matched by one of the quietest players on the team, defensive back Harrison Dotson. Dotson has become one of the top corners in the NSIC by virtually saying less and doing more than one might think.

“You see other teams will not throw to his side because he is such a lock down corner,” Swart said. Even in his freshman year, defensive end Gary Richards knew just how impressive of an athlete Dotson was. “When he was on scout team his freshman year they never threw to him in practice because he kept picking them off.”

Never too afraid to talk about his faith, Dotson has used that to keep him going as a football player and as a person younger teammates can always look up to.

Richards himself may lack Pryor’s intense vocal nature or Swart’s unique athletic ability but there is one thing his teammates all agreed on about him, he gets the job done. Even if it is hard to watch him make a play, his fellow seniors always knew that when he is on the field, there are no worries about what he can do. But his reliability extends beyond the field Johnson told us.

“He is a guy you just want to be around and he will always be there for his teammates, even those he doesn’t interact with a lot.”

The one player the Dragons have anchored on a lot through out these years has been the play of Jon Swart. Swart has been a huge bully on opposing offensive lines, yet even in his most serious of moments, you always see a big smile on his face. He has been described by his teammates as a guy who works and plays so hard he forces others to push their game to higher levels all because they are afraid of letting Swart down.

Such is the mantra of this Dragon football team, not letting each other down. When asked what has kept them playing at MSUM all these years, the response was unanimous, each other.

“It really came into prospective our freshman year when there was a lot of coaching changes, we sat down and agreed we would play for each other,” Wilhelm said. Johnson spoke of those who had always been there for him and that he felt that he could never give up on them.

A lot of people have influenced each senior in different ways. For some it was happenings on the field, for others it was the friendship and guidance they received away from the game. One player who was mentioned by both Gillies and Johnson was Bruce Green, a former wide receiver for the Dragons.

“He came to the hospital when I had surgery, waited in the waiting room for 6 hours, changed tubes for me and really took care of me when I needed it,” Gillies said. “Those are things only your parents would do and Bruce was always willing to take care of me anytime I needed it.”

“We pretty much became brothers because we were so close and I know that won’t ever change for us,” Johnson told me.

For student coach Ryan Chatterton, the influence he received is still largely beneficial to him. Chatterton was a member of an offensive line group that included Matt March and Aaron Cribb.

Chatterton was the successor for the Dragons Offensive Lineman of the Year Award after Cribb had received the honor two years in a row previous. Chatterton now uses those lessons he was taught by the two standout lineman to help him coach this young offensive line.

This year has been a tough one to deal with for Wilhelm however. After a torn ACL and rehabbing his knee, he suffered another injury to his knee. That never stopped Wilhelm from teaching his teammates the lessons once taught to him by former Dragon great Jon Miller.

“I always knew that no matter if I did something good or bad, Miller was always the first guy in my face,” Wilhelm recalled. Miller was also the influence for Richards as well, keeping him dedicated to his teammates and always looking for ways to improve.

Richards has also been known to play much like the way he was taught by Miller, to the very end with no excuses not to be around the ball. Both of these defensive ends have been fixtures for the Dragons and influences on future starters like sophomore Max Pryor.

Pryor is a familiar name for the Dragons. One of Max’s influences might just be his older brother Phil. Pryor has been all over the field for the Dragons, finally settling in at linebacker. He receives a lot of guidance from teammates, mainly Gillies, Swart and Wilhelm. Pryor said that it was the help of these three teammates that has turned him into the player he is today.

Swart has been a cog for the defense for most of his college career. He got there by listening to the advice of Mark Majerus, Mike Link and David Bosh. It was the help of former starters that showed a young Swart all he needs to know to excel for the Dragons.

Dotson has had a different approach to the way he was influenced. Dotson has always been one of the unique players on this team. Living with your doctor not only means Dotson stays in good health, but also means that Christian influence Dotson has always relied on keeps him on track in football and in life.

The one ideal each player keeps coming back to is that they all have each other, even when everything is stacked against them. They make friends for life as Johnson put it. Though the season is been darkened by losses and controversy, the silver lining has been unseen by those in attendance. What these eight guys mean to the 80 teammates they leave behind is what will continue to drive the Dragon football program forward for the years ahead.

Minnesota State University would like to thank these seniors for their years of dedication and unselfish acts both as teammates and as students. We would like to honor these athletes at the Dragons last home game of the season. To all the seniors, Ryan Chatterton, Robbie Wilhelm, Joe Johnson, Phil Pryor, Harrison Dotson, Gary Richards, Jon Swart and Enol Gillies we say thank you.