Dylan Dussault spent much of his fall knocking people around as a standout defensive lineman for the Alden High School football team.

This winter, that strong physical play has been key for the Bulldogs’ boys basketball team.

Dussault leads Alden in scoring and rebounds and he’s proven to be a load to handle inside.

“Dylan’s doing a nice job of leading us,” Alden basketball coach Andy Smith said. “Football, basketball, does a nice job in whatever he does. We ask him to be physical down there and when he does that, that’s when he’s at his best.”

At 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Dussault might not be the biggest man inside physically. But he’s as tough as anyone around.

He’s shown marked improvement throughout the season and the Bulldogs hope that leads to some nice things down the road.

“I’m just working on getting better on my post moves,” said Dussault, who is averaging about 11 points per game for a balanced Alden team. “Whatever I need to do, I’m just going to keep working to help the team.”

As well as his defensive end duties, Dussault also was a wide receiver.

On a run-happy team, he didn’t get a whole lot of catches but he made the most of his chances, scoring four touchdowns.

And much like in football, his basketball statistics don’t mean much to the standout senior. He just wants to win.

“We don’t care who scores, we just want to win,” Dussault said. “We have some real good depth. That’s a main strength for us.”

In football, the Bulldogs enjoyed success early and often — finishing 11-1 and reaching the state semifinals for the first time in program history.

Basketball saw success early, too, as the Bulldogs won their first three games — including a championship at the Iroquois Tip-off Tournament.

However, things derailed from there and Alden lost five in a row.

That said, the Bulldogs have worked to improve and get back on track.

And just like in football, they hope to be playing their best when it matters the most.

“We had a little slump,” Dussault said, “but I think we’re back on track. We should be good. We just have to get on a roll and get some more league games.”