Jacksonville, AL – Looming milestone victory says Smith will have Jacksonville ready for move up to 5A, ready to replace special senior class.
High school football practice starts this week, and East Alabama Sports Today editor Joe Medley has begun his annual round of preseason visits to football-playing schools in Calhoun County. Check out East Alabama Sports Today’s Facebook page for live interviews each weekday leading up to season openers. Columns and key facts will also appear at EASportsToday.com and related social-media platforms.
Clint Smith has 156 career wins, including 99 in 12 seasons at Jacksonville. Win No. 100 at Jacksonville will come this fall.
Those numbers say he’s built programs where he’s coached, not just good teams when generational players came through his doors.
Jacksonville kept winning after running back Ron Wiggins graduated, and now it must carry on without a special senior class that featured four-year starting quarterback Jim Ogle.
The Golden Eagles’ personnel reset comes amid a move up to Class 5A after 22 seasons in 4A, and their new region includes Moody, 6A move-down Center Point and Leeds.
This season promises to test what Smith has built at Jacksonville. He says the Golden Eagles are ready.
“We’ve had rebuilding years,” Smith said. “We’ve had years, coming in, where we were young in certain places and were having to figure out what we’re doing. It’s not like we haven’t had this before.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been at this point where we are as far as our youth and inexperience at different places, so it’s a challenge. Every year is a challenge. … It’s just about putting those pieces of the puzzle together.”
With the first half of Jacksonville’s schedule including Etowah, Alexandria, Moody, Center Point and Leeds, Jacksonville must figure out a lot quickly.
To size up what Jacksonville replaces, it starts with Ogle, a four-year starter at quarterback, a two-time All-State pick and the 2023 Class 4A-6A All-Calhoun County player of the year. He finished his high school career with 9,089 career passing yards and 107 touchdown passes.
As a senior, he completed 210 of 311 passes for 3,095 yards and 44 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Three of Ogle’s top receivers — Ky’dric Fisher, Damonte Sinclair and Imoree Young — also graduated.
Just as important, Jacksonville lost the heart and soul of its defense with the graduations of linebackers Charlie Wright, Ryan Mitchell and Will Greenwood.
But Smith and a largely consistent coaching staff have produced Jacksonville’s deepest-ever playoff runs, including a state-runnerup finish 2019. But for four seasons spent in 4A south because of the fortunes of realignment, here’s betting the Ogle years would’ve produced a few more deeper runs.
Consistency tells a story, and here’s betting Jacksonville won’t fall off of the map because of a special graduating class and a move up in classification.
Senior Jackson Bonner, and All-County player at fullback/tight end last season, is competing with junior Matthew Salmon at quarterback. Smith has receivers and linebackers ready to step in.
They’ll work around a veteran offensive line and returning thousand-yard rusher Zae English on offense. On defense, they’ll work behind perhaps the biggest front Jacksonville has had under Smith and a veteran secondary.
Smith and his staff knew this day was coming. No doubt, they’ve worked to develop players, and Jacksonville teetered on a move up to 5A two years ago.
There’s every reason to believe Smith’s 100th win at Jacksonville will happen soon enough, followed by others as the Golden Eagles seek their 12th consecutive winning season and 12th consecutive playoff berth.
And about Smith’s looming 100th win at Jacksonville?
“I’ve been very blessed here at Jacksonville, first of all with outstanding coaches,” he said. “A lot of these guys were with me at Saks and came with me here. Some of them are new that we’ve hired, but just really a great group of coaches that work hard. They’re great men. They’re great role models and mentors for our kids.
“We’ve just kind of created a good culture here, and really, I just thin of all of the players we’ve had over the years, really good football players that just bought into the program.”
Golden Eagle facts
Things to know about Jacksonville football heading into the 2024 season:
— Clint Smith enters his 13th season as Jacksonville’s head coach and 23rd overall. He’s 99-42 at Jacksonville and 156-89 overall.
— Jacksonville went 10-3 overall in 2023. The Golden Eagles finished 5-1 (second place) in Class 4A, Region 4 and lost Catholic Montgomery in the quarterfinals.
—Key graduation losses from 2023 include All-State quarterback and Class 4A-6A All-Calhoun County player of the year Jim Ogle and All-State wide receiver Ky’dric Fisher. The following All-Calhoun County players also graduated: DL Lewis Bitticks, LB Charlie Wright,, LB Ryan Mitchell, WR/DB Damonte Sinclair, WR Imoree young, LB Will Greenwood, DL Landon Wise, DL Gavin Peeler.
—The following All-Calhoun County picks return: senior RB Zae English, senior FB/TE Jackson Bonner, junior OL Ben Pridgen, senior OL Braden Ball, senior OL Drake Lee, junior LB Trent Jackson, senior DB Tyshaun Cameron, junior K John Ducar, senior OL Gehrig Strain, junior OL Demauri Sigler, senior DL D.J. Atkinson, junior LB Bryce Allen, senior DB T.J. Wilson, junior DB Zae Moore.
— Players to watch: Bonner and junior Matthew Salmon are competing to replace Ogle at quarterback. Sophomores Jack Cadle, Jackson Patterson, J. Reed-Smith, Quinton Atkins and junior Jack Dingler give Jacksonville more size than it’s had on the defensive line. Also, with Ogle graduating, he followed his dad to Murray State University, with the elder Jim serves as an assistant coach. That left Jacksonville looking for an offensive line coach, and Smith tapped veteran coach Paul Farlow, the former Weaver head coach who was an assistant on Anniston’s state championship teams of 1989 and 1994.
— Jacksonville was one of the biggest movers in the latest AHSAA reclassification/realignment. The Golden Eagles moved back up to Class 5A after spending 22 seasons in Class 4A. In Class 5A, Region 6, aligns with Center Point (down from 6A), Leeds, Lincoln, Moody, Springville and St. Clair County.
