Washington County Enterprise-Leader
West Will Play For Hendrix
PRAIRIE GROVE — Senior Dawson West will continue his football career at the college level.
On May 11, West signed a national letter of intent to play college football for Hendrix College. During his senior season, in which Prairie Grove reached the State 4A semifinals for the second consecutive year, West had 13 solo tackles and 26 assists with 4 tackles for losses, plus 1 forced fumble and 4 hurries.
He was a two-way starter, at center on offense and defensive end, which is where he will play at Hendrix.
“The nicest thing about Dawson is he’s sharp, he’s real smart,” said Prairie Grove coach Danny Abshier. “He plays hard, keeps it on the lighter side. He has good contain that was impressive enough to get the Hendrix coaches to come down here and take a look at him.”
Abshier said West just got better and better and thinks the athlete will continue to improve, and not just because he’s maturing physically. West has shown a knack for developing his level of skill, something Abshier thinks will be enhanced as he gets on a college weight training program. West benchpresses 225 and runs the 40 in 5.03.
“He’s going to become a great football player,” Abshier said. “He’s got a great frame and good speed. I think some good times are coming for him.”
West is a home-grown product. His father Nathan West played football for the Tigers while Dawson’s mother, Christie Moore, was a cheerleader.
West has a 4.0 GPA. He stands 6-feet-2 and weighs 220 pounds. Among his favorite memories from playing football at Prairie Grove were a 62-33 win over Shiloh Christian on Oct. 9, 2015 that ended with a running clock and reaching the 2015 State 4A championship.
“My favorite memories are mercy-ruling Shiloh and making it to the state finals,” Dawson said.