Central Valley’s Ameer Dudley chooses Ivy League football, ‘best education’

By: Chris Harlan
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | 12:10 AM

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Three days after winning a WPIAL championship, Central Valley quarterback Ameer Dudley had more reason to celebrate.

The senior on Monday announced his commitment to Harvard, choosing the Ivy League school over other Division I offers. He’d quietly committed to the Crimson weeks ago but waited to reveal his decision until his application was approved.

“It’s the best education in the world. You can’t pass that up,” Dudley said. “So many people would do whatever they need to get into that school. If I have the opportunity to go, why not?”

Dudley listed almost a dozen Division I FCS and FBS offers in recent months, including Albany, Army, Colgate and Lehigh. Dartmouth and Yale were among his other Ivy League options.

The 6-foot-2, 188-pound passer has completed 62 of 100 attempts this season for 1,022 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s also rushed for 263 yards.

Dudley received an offer from Harvard in May and started his application process in late August or early September. He’d decided that if he were accepted, Harvard was his choice.

He’d built a solid relationship with assistant coach Keegan Kennedy and head coach Tim Murphy, who’s in his 27th season. Murphy has won nine Ivy League championships.

“Winning games and stuff like that is important to me, of course,” Dudley said, “but I had to be sold on the coaches first before even I even looked that deep into it.”

He doesn’t have a declared major yet but is confident that Harvard can open doors in the future, whatever path he chooses.

“That was part of the reason why I wanted to go to Harvard,” he said. “At Harvard, I have people I can meet and be introduced to. The network is the best in the country. I don’t know what I want to do with my life yet. I can go there and figure everything out.”

Dudley rushed for a touchdown in the WPIAL Class 3A championship Friday, but Central Valley didn’t need to throw much in the 35-0 victory over Elizabeth Forward. He passed for 92 yards.

The Warriors are 10-0 and all 10 wins have ended with the mercy rule. When a team is winning by 35 points or more in the second half, the clock runs continuously.

Central Valley plays District 5 champion Bedford (10-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in a PIAA semifinal at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium.

Committed. #AGTG pic.twitter.com/qpvwWHdhZc

— ameer dudley³ (@DudleyAmeer) November 17, 2020

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Central Valley