Cougars' Contact Captain Contends

It’s unavoidable. Mike Dougherty, Springfield’s 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior linebacker/fullback, will run into or over someone during the course of a game.

Dougherty stepped into an unusual role Friday night as the featured back for the Cougars in their 21-7 victory over Upper Darby, rushing for a career-best 92 yards. Dougherty had to replace Springfield’s lightning-fast junior tailback Rob Murphy, who missed the game with back discomfort.

Dougherty’s primary spot is at linebacker with Tyler Morrissey, combining to make a potent one-two punch. The two merged to make 310 tackles between last year—and they’re close to 140 between them this year.

“Mike doesn’t shy away from contact, both the way he runs the ball and the way he plays defense,” Cougars’ coach Tom Kline said.

“He wants to run you over on both sides of the ball. Mike has no shake in him, he wants to hit the hole and run you over. You can pretty much line Mike up anywhere, he wanted to stick his nose in there. 

“Our defense copied off that philosophy. They really swarm to the ball right now, and it starts with Mike and Tyler. They’re the same type of player. We’ve already spoken to him about moving to safety in college, which would be really scary, because Mike is as unselfish as you get—he understands his role. When he gets his reps on offense, he makes the most of them.”