Dexter McCluster: a.k.a. Mr. 2000

ALL-SUNCOAST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: With 2,490 rushing yards in 13 games, the Largo senior earned a new name.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published January 1, 2006

He used to be called Dexter, the name his parents gave him at birth.

But that was before his record-breaking 2005 season, in which he ran through, around and over defenses in leading Largo High further than it had ever advanced and setting rushing standards in Pinellas County.

Now, they just call Dexter McCluster "Mr. 2000."

It's certainly more concise than what we're calling him today: the Times All-Suncoast Football Player of the Year.

"A lot of people around here have been calling me that, Mr. 2000," the senior said. "I know it was a pretty big accomplishment, but I don't think too much about it even though I'm proud of it.

"I just tell them, "Hey, my name is Dexter."'

By the time the postseason ended, Mr. 2000 was actually Mr. 2490, as in the yards he gained in 13 games, three in the playoffs. To that total he added 39 touchdowns. Both shattered the Pinellas County records. In fact, McCluster this season became the first in Pinellas history to reach 2,000 yards rushing and 30 touchdowns in a regular season, a total he reached with a final-game effort of 227 yards and seven scores.

"We never thought about that as some magic number," Largo coach Rick Rodriguez said. "Before the season, we were thinking probably 1,500 to 1,600 yards. But then about halfway through the season, people started talking about 2,000."

And not just a few people.

Seemingly everyone, from the halls of Largo to the local neighborhood to the area malls.

"I was just hoping to get 1,000 yards again," said McCluster, who had 1,252 as a junior. "Then it became a goal of everyone's. Every day, someone would come up to me and say, "You going to get 2,000?"'

For McCluster, however, hitting the magic number was nothing more than a byproduct of helping his team win a school-record 10 games and reach the Class 5A region final. Of all his outstanding games this season, the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder's performance against Seminole on Oct.14 was his best, Rodriguez said. In a key district game, the team was all but buried.

But with 90 seconds left, McCluster returned a punt 56 yards to tie it at 20. After Largo's defense held, McCluster caught a 41-yard pass down the sideline to set up the winning field goal with eight seconds remaining.

"If we lose that game, it's Seminole going to the playoffs and not us," Rodriguez said. "Dexter willed us to a victory in that game because he knew we had to win it. That's what I'll always remember."

McCluster, however, who has committed to Mississippi, will leave a mark greater than one that can be measured by numbers.

After the season ended with a 26-13 loss to Bradenton Manatee, defensive line coach Jeremy Frioud addressed the players, telling them he hoped they could all be like McCluster.

But not because of the numbers, or his zigzag, edge-of-your-seat ability, or his speed; rather, how McCluster entered Largo as a freshman encouraged by his friends not to play football because he was too small and made himself into the area's best player.

"Dexter may not be the biggest and the most athletic player in the county," Frioud said. "But he was, by far, the best football player in the county."

The words made McCluster proud.

"That meant something," he said. "He was right. It took a lot of effort, and you have to be dedicated and work as hard as you can. I told the team at our banquet, just set a goal for yourself. Work hard for it. If you do, you can reach it."

And maybe, even earn a snazzy nickname like Mr. 2000.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]