Senior Dante Coleman lined up at outside linebacker just like any other play — at his usual position, wearing the same number, under the familiar lights of Queen Creek, just like any other Friday night.

He’s been doing it this way for years.

At the snap of the ball, Coleman rushed toward the line of scrimmage and, seconds later, left an unsuspecting quarterback on the ground.

It’s times like these where he proves his leadership on the field.

“My coach always told me, ‘We go as I go,’” he said. “Everyone looks at me, and if they see me down, then the whole team will be down, so I’ve just got to keep my head up and keep going.”

And following the sack, he did exactly that. Coleman lifted his head up — straight up— and pointed deep into the night sky.

Before the start of Coleman’s senior season, his 47-year-old father, Geno, passed away in a fatal car accident.

Now, he’s on the receiving end of Dante’s upward gaze.

“He couldn’t always make it to all my football games because he had work,” Coleman said. “Now since he’s gone it’s like he can go to all of my games.”

Long before the newfound connection was established, football was an everyday activity for Coleman and his father.

“Football meant the world to him,” Coleman said. “Me and him would always watch football … No matter what day it was, we’d always be on the couch watching football.”

When they weren’t watching football, they were talking about Coleman’s game.

“I knew football was a good way to express myself to him,” he said. “I knew that would make him proud and I just wanted to see my dad proud of me. Now I know he’s proud of me.”

With this in mind, Coleman dedicated his senior season to his father.

“I’m dedicating the season to him because my dad was my best friend,” he said. “I could come to him when I was down or when I was sad or mad or anything, and he would always know the right stuff to say to me to cheer me up.”

Now Coleman tries to be the same encouraging friend to his teammates.

“I know, as the team leader, I have to stay positive about everything,” he said. “If I get down the whole team will get down, and I can’t let that happen.”

To stay up, Coleman remembers what his dad used to tell him.

“Before every game he’d tell me what stats he wanted me to have,” Coleman said. “He’d text me ‘I want you to have two sacks and 11 tackles,’ and that was always motivation for me. Now with him not being here, he left it upon me to become a man and do the things that I am capable of doing. That’s what drives me and motivates me to play every game.”

“I think it helps that he’s playing with a passion and that it’s contagious,” Queen Creek coach Travis Schureman added. “I think the whole thing has brought us close together as a family. That’s been the biggest influence on the team, the way they’ve rallied around and lifted each other up.”

When things don’t go according to plan on the field, Coleman feels his dad guiding him.

“I feel like he can talk to me sometimes,” he said. “I feel him talking to me when I get in bad situations in the game. I feel like he’s right there in my ear just telling me stuff, just trying to keep positive.”

Coleman is an outside linebacker for Queen Creek, but he occasionally plays running back. As a senior and an athletic two-way player, he’s certainly a key to what the Bulldogs do on the field.

“He’s a big part of what we do on Friday nights,” Schureman said about Coleman. “He runs the ball when we ask him to run the ball, and he plays great defense. … He has been a big part of what our defense has been doing (this season).”

Dante has 3.5 of the team’s 16 sacks, and 67 of the team’s 555 tackles. He leads the team with 24 solo tackles.

“The defense has been a major part of this team,” senior tight end and linebacker Duncan Andrews said. “It's been a major part of our success so far because when the offense isn't doing great the defense steps up.”

So far, the Queen Creek defense has held every opponent to less than 28 points, while holding four teams to two touchdowns or less.

“I’m used to playing defense more, but as a leader I knew I would have to step up and play offense too,” Coleman said. “I love that my coaches trust me and my teammates trust me to (play both sides).”

Offensively, Coleman has rushed for 237 yards with three touchdowns.

Queen Creek (8-0) has had its eyes on state all season, but continues to take a game-by-game approach.

“We’re pretty proud of where we are right now, but our mentality is 14-0,” Coleman said. ”We have to keep grinding because nothing is set in stone yet.”

As for next year, Coleman says he wants to play football at the next level. Although he doesn't have any college offers, he’s remaining optimistic.

“My coach and I are getting stuff figured out for this season, and we’re going to see what happens after,” he said. “(We are) just hoping for the best.”