Three years ago Dandridge Payne joined the Covenant football team as an assistant under then head coach Mark Sanford. Now in 2010, Payne is at the helm for the Eagles with one simple goal out in front — to make sure his players have no regrets when they leave the field.
“I just want these seniors to have the best year that they possibly can,” Payne said. “Obviously we want to go 10-0, but I want the kids to just leave it on the field and be satisfied. If we were to lose 27-26 all 10 games and they were still able to walk off the field knowing they gave it their all, I’d feel pretty good.”
It’s been a bit of a wild ride for the Eagles over the last 18 months. For the first six years of the program’s existence, Sanford was the only head coach for Covenant, but in February of 2009 he decided to take the vacancy at William Monroe. The Eagles initially brought in former Army receivers coach Dan Baranik to fill the void, but he wound up leaving the job before training camp started. Rich Little, having been already named the school’s boys lacrosse coach earlier in the year, took over as interim coach last season and helped Covenant rebuild as the Eagles graduated the bulk of its talent.
Now, after his time as an assistant, it’s Payne’s team to run and Covenant athletic director Doug Smethurst is looking forward to what’s in store.
“We are very excited about Dandridge taking over the reins of our football program,” said Covenant athletic director Doug Smethurst. “His enthusiasm for the game and genuine care for each of the boys are two strengths that will serve him well.”
The feeling is quite mutual.
“It’s been very exciting,” Payne said of heading into his first season as a head coach. “I feel blessed that the school would give me this opportunity.”
For first year coaches, terminology and philosophies often take time to install, but having having been in house already, Payne has an advantage in that he knows all the players and the environment the team is accustomed to from previous seasons.
“I’ve modeled a lot of what we plan to do from what I learned from Coach Sanford and last year’s staff,” Payne said. “So I’m kind of taking the two, putting them together and hopefully kids won’t have a hard time or that huge learning curve you usually get with a new coaching staff.”
The good news for Payne coming in is that almost all of last year’s team is back in the fold, including seniors in key positions like Lee Coppock at quarterback and Chris Shifflett at running back, both in their senior years.
“Having Lee and Chris around has made these first few weeks so much easier,” Payne said. “Having those guys as leaders as well as two of the best players on the field, that’s been a big help.”
Covenant will scrimmage once before its season opener against Norfolk Christian in the last week of August. The Eagles will take on Blessed Sacrement Huguenot next Friday.
