Dundee’s Webb: From Scotsman to Statesman

An era is over and possibly another era is just starting.  Dundee’s Steven Webb, one of our area’s most dynamic high school football players and Section V’s most prolific scorers, is heading to Hobart College next fall.

The village of Dundee is neatly located between two of the sparkling Fingers Lakes, Seneca and Keuka, and is surrounded by vineyards and scenic hillsides.  The autumn season is ushered in every year with a shower of changing foliage colors and the scent of ripening grapes in the air.  It is a delightful time of year for local residents and visitors alike.  But recently, this Yates County hamlet has had other reasons to rejoice the coming autumn months, the high school football season.

The past few falls and particularly the last three years, the Dundee Scotsmen football team has dominated the area high school gridiron scene and their local fans and community have truly embraced them.  

The Scots have put together a football program that has rolled over teams in the Finger Lakes West League and Section V.  In fact, the past two season they have advanced to the New York State Western Regionals, a couple of games away from a New York State title.  

A couple of powerhouse teams from the Jamestown area, Maple Grove and Randolph, short-circuited their runs. 

Dundee has experienced this gridiron success by playing sound fundamental football built around a solid defense and a high-powered offense.  Of course, it takes more than just putting a program in place to be successful.  A team also has to have the “horses.”  

The Scotsmen in this sense have been truly blessed lately.  They have a number of truly gifted athletes on both sides of the ball that have made this team fire on all cylinders.  But the last couple of years, one player in particular has been the catalyst that really made this machine go — a “franchise player”.  For the Dundee Scots, that player has been the talented Steven Webb.

To say Dundee enjoyed a high-powered offense is quite an understatement.  They were literally a maroon and white scoring jauggernaut.  Just ask any of their Finger Lakes opponents.  They scored an amazing 480 points last season.  Steven Webb was responsible personally for 210 of them.  He rushed for 32 touchdowns, added two more on punt returns, and scored one more on a pass reception.  

Webb rushed for an amazing 2,041 yards, a true country mile — averaging to over 190 yards per game.  These impressive offensive numbers in his senior year came after a stellar junior campaign when he scored 17 touchdowns and ran for almost 1,000 yards.  

Offense is not Steven’s only forte. He also helped anchor the Scotsmen’s stingy defense.  When there was a key tackle to be made,  an important fumble to be recovered, or a pass to be picked off, the talented Mr. Webb always seemed to be in the middle of the action.  If that wasn’t enough, he also did the punting for the Scots, although with their explosive offense, that wasn’t very often.  This dynamic football player dominated through shear talent, explosive speed, and just plain hardwork.  

At a shade under 6 feet tall and weighing around 175 lbs, he is not particularly big by football standards.  But his work ethic and desire is of very large dimensions. 

Steven Webb is a natural athlete with some very special, gifted talents, not just on the football field.  He has played a little basketball and has exhibited State class sprinters speed on the track team.  He is also an excellent academic talent. Steven Webb is the full package.

Young Mr. Webb is now Hobart College- bound and hopefully will have success with the Statesmen’s gridiron forces.   Hobart has been very successful in their own right the past few seasons.  The Steven Webb era is over in Dundee.  

He, and another standout running back, Ryan Ballard, entertained and thrilled hundreds of local fans and supporters the past couple of years with amazing talents.  
Now a new era could be on the horizon for local college football fans. And those fans just might get to see the two on the field together again, when Hobart hosts St. John Fisher on Sept. 25, because Ballard, in true family form, plans to attend St. John Fisher, where his brother and cousins have made their marks on the field as well.