Extra Effort Award: Clinton's Dexter Wilson leads Dark Horses to undefeated start

Clinton High School might be the Dark Horses, but they sure aren't underdogs after a 5-0 start to the season with a Thursday night win against Princeton. A big reason for that success - senior football captain Dexter Wilson

"We're pretty big on football around here," Wilson said.

This week's winner of the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award does just that - give extra effort in all things.

"He's a 20 times better human being than he'll ever be a football player, he's a fantastic football player, so it tells you how good a character he has," said Clinton High School head football coach Cory Johnson.

Wilson has made his name in the trenches, blocking as a center and causing chaos as a defensive lineman, but it's in the classroom and in the community where he really stands out.

"A great role model for our students, not just here at the high school, but what he does for the community outside with the other schools," Clinton High School principal Susan Westerbeek said.

A 4.0 GPA, tutoring other students and constantly volunteering, Wilson is always looking for ways to give back.

"When I hear them, it just makes me go harder, do what I do for them, give them somebody to look up to, show them that they can do it if they don't believe," Wilson said.

"Just to hear him talk about it and know all the effort he puts forth in his other classes, I can see why he was nominated for the award," Spanish teacher Paula Barnes added.

Wilson said he's familiar with this award.

"I grew up watching it on TV with my grandma, and when I heard that I won I went straight to her and told her about it," Wilson said.

On top of that, both his brother and his head coach, Johnson, have won the Extra Effort Award.

"They're going to carry that way longer, they're going the character and the academics way longer than they'll ever carry the sport. Five, 10 years from now, at the Clinton High School, we'll talk about him, saying how hard he worked," Johnson said.

That's why Dexter Wilson is this week's winner of the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.