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H.S. Football: Dallas not looking back as it plays Valley View for D2-4A championship

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NASCAR’s final 4 in fun mode ahead of championship race

<p>DAVIE, Fla. &#8212; Even more than his teammates, Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Nik Needham has been waiting a long time for a winning streak.</p><p>Needham played for UTEP in college and endured seasons of 0-12 in 2017 and 1-11 last year. He then joined the Dolphins, who lost their first seven games but have since won two in a row.</p><p>After a stretch of 30 losses in 31 games, Needham said it&#8217;s fun to go 2-0.</p><p>&#8220;Yeah, it feels great to win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of like you get addicted to it. You need it again.&#8221;</p><p>The Dolphins play host to Buffalo on Sunday, and Needham will make his fifth start of the season, an improbable achievement that could happen only on a rebuilding team.</p><p>He went undrafted in April, was cut by the Dolphins at the end of training camp and then gladly took a place on their practice squad, where he spent the first six weeks of the season.</p><p>A trade and injuries opened a spot on the roster. Now Needham is coming off his best game yet and is emblematic of what the Dolphins want this year to be about: improvement.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s starting to see the fruits of his labor in terms of the success on the field,&#8221; defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. &#8220;But he knows he still has a long way to go.&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s no guarantee Needham will even be good enough to make the Dolphins&#8217; roster next year, when they&#8217;re expected to be much improved. But he&#8217;s at least in the mix to become part of the team&#8217;s long-term plans.</p><p>A handful of other young players are in the same situation, including safety Steven Parker, a waiver acquisition after spending last year on the Rams&#8217; practice squad. Parker and Needham each made his first career interception in last week&#8217;s win at Indianapolis.</p><p>Needham also made the tackle to stop the Colts on fourth down to seal the victory. He gets needled about his unlikely path to the NFL.</p><p>&#8220;We joke with him a lot,&#8221; veteran safety Reshad Jones said, &#8220;but he&#8217;s been progressing and working his tail off to help this team.&#8221;</p><p>The 5-foot-11 Needham doesn&#8217;t have eye-popping size or speed. He played only one year of varsity in high school, received just one college scholarship offer and wondered where his football career was headed &#8212; literally.</p><p>&#8220;Not a lot of people watched UTEP, care about UTEP, even know who we are,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When I got my offer, I was like, &#8216;Where is that at?&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>The Miners were terrible in his final two seasons, but he caught the eye of Josh Boyer, the Dolphins&#8217; cornerbacks coach.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s March, and Josh goes, &#8216;I think I&#8217;ve got a kid from UTEP who&#8217;s pretty decent,&#8217;&#8221; Miami head coach Brian Flores recalled. &#8220;When he says &#8216;pretty decent,&#8217; that means he&#8217;s probably pretty good.&#8221;</p><p>The Dolphins signed Needham as a rookie free agent and began molding him into a pro. For starters, Boyer began urging him to lose weight.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d have a bag of chips and he&#8217;s on me, like, &#8216;Throw that away,&#8217;&#8221; Needham said. &#8220;I used to think he was joking, but he was serious, and now I understand what that did for me.&#8221;</p><p>Eating less fast food and more spinach, Needham lost 12 pounds. He&#8217;s faster, quicker and healthier, and now he&#8217;s a winner.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham tackles Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Zach Pascal after a catch during the first half of an NFL game in Indianapolis on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_AP19314774064728.jpg</photo0><caption0>Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham tackles Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Zach Pascal after a catch during the first half of an NFL game in Indianapolis on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_AP19315012070667.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham celebrates following an NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_AP19315012070667.jpg</photo1><caption1>Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham celebrates following an NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>AP photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Steven Wine</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE</p><p>At press time, the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns was still in progress.</p></factboxMeta></div>

NFL: Dolphins’ rookie enjoying 1st winning streak in 3 years