6 Bulldogs sign to play college football

Jun. 3—ST. PAULS — It's a big deal for a high school football program when even one of its players signs to play college football.

But what about six on the same day?

St. Pauls experienced such an occasion Thursday as a half-dozen of its football seniors signed to play at the next level.

Mikail Breeden and Javier Ortiz will both play at Greensboro College, Robbie Powell at Presbyterian, Bradley Gooden at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Aaron Adams at Mars Hill and Jamarcus Simmons at Methodist.

"It's a banner day for our program," St. Pauls coach Mike Setzer said. "We want to be the mecca of this county — I want people to think, when they say football, I want them to think St. Pauls football. That's why we do it; we push these kids. It's a process of going to play college football. In our program, we sit down and we map out a plan, and they have to be 99.9% of that, taking that by the reins and doing it."

Breeden and Ortiz will play for the Pride, a Division-III program. Breeden, a three-year starter for the Bulldogs at quarterback, completed 65% of his passes last fall for 1,588 yards and 21 touchdowns with just six interceptions, also rushing for 339 yards and three touchdowns. He was named Robeson County Offensive Player of the Year and is a three-time All-County honoree.

"It's a game-changer for me. Playing three years, the only thing I wanted, my goal was to get out of here. That was my main goal, and to make my people proud," Breeden said. "I just like the way (Greensboro) make me feel comfortable; they make me feel like family all over again."

Ortiz had 26 receptions for 434 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver last season and also had four interceptions, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, 64 tackles and nine tackles for loss as a defensive back.

"It felt like home when I went up there," Ortiz said. "That's where I felt comfortable at. It felt like a home — it felt right. The vibe was good. I'm happy I'm going there with my quarterback, so we can get to work."

Ortiz was recruited as an athlete, but said having his high school quarterback on the roster with the Pride would potentially make playing receiver the easiest transition.

"I felt like it really worked for us, because we've already been working out; we've got years under our belt together," Ortiz said.

Powell will play at Presbyterian; the Blue Hose play football in the Pioneer Football League, a football-only conference at the NCAA Division-I football championship subdivision level.

Powell had 80 tackles, with seven tackles for loss and two interceptions last season as a defensive back; he caught 17 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver and is a two-time All-County selection. Positionally, he will play wherever he is needed at the college level.

"I just really liked it out there. The coaches were talking to me a lot and made it feel like home," Powell said. "It's a big dream. I've had it since I was 7 playing football in Lumberton."

Gooden will stay in Robeson County with the Braves. A senior leader for the Bulldogs, Gooden was a key blocker on the offensive line of the last four years and earned All-County honors his last two seasons.

"It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I really did it for (Marqueise Coleman). It's a big dream come true," Gooden said. "I guess just being able to be close to home, being close to family, because family is a big part of my life."

Simmons will also stay close to home at Methodist, an NCAA Division-III program in Fayetteville. He earned All-County honors as a defensive back after an 80-tackle season last fall with seven tackles for loss.

"The coaching staff there, they were really nice to me from the get go, and I just love the atmosphere. It was a city school and a country face," Simmons said. "It's been a dream of mine since I was 7 years old whenever I first started playing football. I always just prayed to God to get an opportunity just to play it, and He blessed me with it."

Simmons will get the opportunity to face two of his former teammates this fall, as Breeden and Ortiz' Greensboro College team will play at Methodist on Nov. 5.

Adams will play for Division-II Mars Hill; last fall he had 29 tackles, including two tackles for loss and four sacks, as an honorable-mention All-County player on the Bulldogs' defensive line. He will play long snapper for the Lions.

"I've been working forever for it, so it's good to have it finally," Adams said. "(Mars Hill) was a good family atmosphere; I can bring my family to a good place. They needed my position and I'm going to go fill it."

A seventh member of the St. Pauls football class of 2022 will sign collegiately; wide receiver/defensive back Eddrick James was not present at Thursday's signing ceremony, but plans to sign with St. Augustine's University.

These seniors were part of the Bulldogs' state championship appearance in the spring 2021 season and reached the fourth round of the state playoffs last fall; they have won back-to-back conference championships.

"A lot of programs are looking for kids coming out of programs that's winning, so first and foremost they're getting winners," Setzer said. "College football, it's all about trying to get a win. But past the winning, the most important thing I can say is all those guys are high-character kids. Coming through our program, their character is tested."

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.