Creekside loaded with returning starters from Class 4A semifinal team

Creekside coach Maurice Dixon hasn’t stopped thinking about last year’s Class 4A semifinal loss to Marist — a 27-21 heartbreaker during which his team was outscored 21-7 in the second half.

This year, with 10 starters back on offense and a quarterback he trusts implicitly, Dixon has one thing on his mind: playing 15 games, something his team talks about daily.

“However you want to lose, we're going to beat you that way,” Dixon said.

He’s confident and unfazed about the season because of his and the team’s belief in quarterback Cayden Benson. Though not yet a major national recruit, this all-state quarterback and Region 4-4A offensive player of the year is well-known by every team Creekside faces.

Benson transferred from Parkview last season and earned the starting job before week one. He finished with nearly 3,500 total yards and 35 touchdowns. His 1,085 yards on the ground led the team.

“As he goes, we go,” Dixon said of Benson. “He’s an electric talent. He’s got the ‘it’ about him. People want to play with him.”

This offseason, Dixon said the staff has focused on improving Benson’s decision-making. In 13 games last season, Benson committed 18 turnovers (13 interceptions, five fumbles). He describes Benson as a Baker Mayfield-type of player — a guy who always looked to make the big play.

“It's growth, but you’ve got to become bored with consistency,” Dixon said. “If you just take what they give you, you take a profit. Profits will never go broke.”

The quarterback may be the tip of the Seminoles’ spear, but the foundation of their offense is still running the ball. The Seminoles were almost a 50-50 split of run vs. pass yards last season, but they had 439 rushing attempts compared to just 271 pass attempts — meaning 62% of their offensive plays were runs.

Creekside returns all five starters from that offensive line, giving Dixon another reason to be confident.

“If you want us to grind out the game and run the ball the whole game, that's fine, we can do that,” Dixon said.

Dixon is excited to have running back Gary Walker back after he missed last season with a torn ACL. Walker ran for 435 yards as a freshman. Now a junior, Dixon hopes Walker can help fill the shoes of Corey Mims (Warner University) and supplement returner Anthony Hill (Warner University commit), who was also injured last season.

And with senior receivers like Eric Paul Jr. (multiple MAC offers), Damien “Bam” Henderson (Sacramento State commit) and up-and-coming junior Armani Hill, Dixon believes Benson will have no problem exploiting defenses that load up to stop the run.

“If you want the press and play cover zero, the receivers are going to make you pay because we can throw the ball,” Dixon said. “So, however you want to try to stop us, we're going to beat you, because our offense is really complete in what we're doing.”

On defense, the confidence and expectations continue. With all the certainty Dixon has in his offense, he may have even more in a unit he believes is one of the top in Class 4A. And it starts up front.

Dixon plans to rotate about six guys along the front four, and five of the six are juniors. He remembers them from rec leagues growing up. They were all running backs. They were big, oversized running backs. Now, he looks to maximize their athleticism against slower, less nimble offensive linemen.

However, the defense is led by junior linebacker Major “Mayway” Levell (three Group of 5 offers), who has started 29 games for the Seminoles in his two seasons. As a sophomore, he racked up 117 tackles, 16 for a loss and was an all-state honorable mention.

“He’s the captain of the ship,” Dixon says.

The Seminoles also have six defensive backs with offers to play in college. They start with FAU commit Sean Williams. Williams has experience playing corner and safety — a valuable asset in a crowded secondary room.

“We're going to really be able to lock you down (and) lock that box,” Dixon said. “And when you can do those things consistently, you’ve got a very, very good team.”

This senior class believes it still has something to prove. When Creekside lost to Coffee in the Class 5A championship game in 2023, these seniors were major contributors, but only sophomores.

The Seminoles felt like outsiders expected them to take a step back. Instead, their loss to Marist in the semifinals last year proved they were still ahead of schedule — a trajectory Dixon believes may have been accelerated by Benson’s arrival.

This year, two key transfers join the fold: 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman Jaylon Moore and 6-foot-2, 225-pound tight end Lonnie Brown, both from Tri-Cities.

Moore picked up a scholarship offer from Georgia earlier this summer. Dixon says Moore has improved his consistency from play to play since his arrival, and with Georgia Southern commit Jayvon Perry holding down left tackle and Moore at right tackle, Creekside’s line could be among the best in the state.

Brown gives Dixon something he says he hasn’t had since his first season at Creekside in 2017, a big body receiver/tight end that the quarterback can use as a safety blanket.

“To give Caden that comfort over the middle of the field, it's going to really take our offense to the next level,” Dixon said. “If you look at Bam and EP (Eric Paul Jr.), they are smaller guys — quicker, faster guys. When you get somebody — that big body target — that really helps make a complete offense.”

Now entering his ninth season at his alma mater, Dixon says he can see himself in all the kids who wear a Creekside jersey — in any of the hundreds, if not thousands, of combinations they can put together.

He tells his players, “In life, there’s no way around hard work.” He motivates his players to take on that challenge of hard work head-on and understands the ups and downs that can impact players in a community he grew up in.

And now, with the offseason nearly over, for Dixon, this is when he thinks things start to feel real. When school begins on August 4th, it’ll be the first practice with pads.

“I get excited about (the first day of pads) because this is an opportunity for a new team — a new dream.”