Arrow football team starts a new chapter for 2024 with new staff additions & new outlooks for offense and defense
Arrow football team starts a new chapter for 2024
By Danny C. Davis
The Clinton Arrow football program has been playing football since 1920. There have been many coaching changings and up and down seasons for Arrows, who have played over 1,000 games in history.
This year, a new chapter started in April with the hiring of John Carr as head coach. Carr was hired after Judd Boswell resigned after a twelve-year run as head coach of the Arrows, a tenure that included winning the then-Class 6 A Championship in 2016. Carr became the nineteenth head coach in Arrow football history.
Carr spent sixteen years coaching high school football in northeast Louisiana, including the last eight years of the sixteen as head coach of Ouachita Parish High School, where he compiled a 72-28 record with playoff appearances every year and deep playoff runs several years. He spent the last ten years coaching wide receivers at the Division 1 College level, including stops at Southern Miss, UL Monroe, and Troy University.
“I have been an offensive coach my whole career, and we are going to run a fast, quick-tempo offense, getting the play off quickly and throwing a lot,”said Carr. “It is going to be exciting football.”
With the Arrows returning starting quarterback Josef Walker, running back Jakobe Williams, and the top receivers from 2023 – Aiden Knox, Jaydann Hollins and tight end Phillip Burchfield – Carr feels good about his Arrow offense.
“We feel that we can be very successful moving the football this year.”
Carr said he feels good about the entire team after spring and summer drills.
“We have good assistant coaches and good players on the team this year,” said Carr.
“From day one, they have bought into what we want to do here at Clinton.”
The Arrows are coming off their worst season since the 1950s, winning only one game. But a lot of that could be attributed to losing nine starters to injury, including injuries to all three quarterbacks in 2023. Also, nine of the ten teams Clinton played last year made the playoffs, and two of those played for a state championship.
“Josef Walker has improved a lot at quarterback since we got here, and we feel he can do a good job of running our offense,”said Carr.
The Arrows not only have Knox, Hollins and Burchfield returning at the receiver positions, but some very good other receivers vying for a start, including two starters who are back on the offensive line – Terrell Elizenberry and Amaree Good – and other guys that played last year, as well as some good newcomers.
“We feel good about our starters on the offensive line,” said offensive line coach Tyler Peterson.
Defensively, the Arrows return thee starters up front on the D line – James Farr, Dallas Johnson and Lazivan Tinner. Three starters return at linebacker for Clinton – Jaiden Jefferson, Robsen Neblitt and Chad Holiday.
An area of concern will be the defensive backfield, where only defensive back Justin Singleton returns.
“We have some young guys who are talented that have not played very much that hopefully will grow up in a hurry in the defensive backfield,” said Arrow defensive coordinator Hammer Morgan.
Also, a big loss from the 2023 team was punter/kicker Hayden Wolfe, who was selected to kick in the 2023 Mississippi-Alabama All Star Game. Two-year deep snapper Joseph Peabody and two-year holder Creston Garland also graduated.
Braylon Spann, Jackson Carter and Justin Singleton, all players on the Clinton Arrow soccer team, are all working and vying for a start at place kicker and punting. Gage Temple and James Farr have been working as deep snapper, and John Jackson has been working as holder.
Also, the Arrow’s schedule is brutal, once again – arguably the toughest in Mississippi at any classification.
Clinton only has four Region 2-Class 7A games – Madison Central, Starkville, Tupelo and Germantown. Region 2-7A is referred to and compared to the old SEC West Conference, due to the strength of the schedule.
Because of a two-year commitment to the Vicksburg –Warren Central Red Carpet Bowl, the Arrows will only have four homes games this year. Clinton will play the same schedule as last year, when every opponent was ranked in the top 25 during the 2023 season.
This year, the schedule gets no easier. Clinton plays four opponents in the preseason top 10, and six opponents in the preseason top 25 statewide.
In the preseason poll, Brandon is ranked # 1, Madison Central ranked # 3, Tupelo is ranked # 7, Warren Central is ranked # 9, Starkville is #12, Grenada is # 13 and South Panola is # 22.
Just like last year, no other Class 6A or Class 7A school in the state plays such a tough schedule.
“I have recruited this area of Mississippi high schools for colleges for ten years, and I am well familiar with all our opponents and how good the talent is at this level,” said Carr.
“Our job every week as coaches is to get our team ready to play at their highest level, no matter who our opponent will be that week. Our approach is getting Clinton to play like we are capable of playing and not let Clinton beat Clinton, without making turnovers and mistakes. We will look at our opponents on film and go out and execute our game plan; and, if we do that without making a lot of mistakes, we will have a good chance to win. If we get beat by better talent, then we will know we prepared and played our best and just got beat by a better team. We are not concerned about preseason ranking but getting our team to prepare and play our best,” said Carr.
“We really like Clinton, the administration, the fans and all the football tradition and history here. And I really like this team and our staff. They have worked hard, and the team has done everything we have asked them to do in the preseason. We feel we have a chance to have a very good season.”
“I hope our fans will fill the stands and support these guys. I think it is going to be exciting football and fun to watch,” said Carr.
Clinton will play Vicksburg at home on August 23 in a controlled pre-season scrimmage.
The first regular season game will be against Warren Central at Viking Stadium on August 30. The Arrow’s first home game will be on September 13 at Arrow Field against # 1 ranked Brandon at 7 p.m.
Tate, Wells join Clinton Arrow football staff
John Tate (left) and Sidney Wells (right) joined Clinton Head Football Coach John Carr’s staff this summer.
Two new assistant coaches step on the field for the Clinton Arrow football team as the 2024 preseason gets underway.
John Tate and Sidney Wells, a familiar face for Arrow fans, join the Clinton coaching staff, as new Head Football Coach John Carr gets his first campaign started in Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) 7A football.
The Arrows kick off the season against the Warren Central Vikings at the Red Carpet Bowl on Friday, August 30, in Vicksburg. Clinton football’s first home game against the Brandon Bulldogs is Friday, September 13, at Arrow Field on the campus of Clinton High School.
Tate, a Kosciusko native and member of the Kosciusko High School football team, graduated in 2018. While playing for the Whippets, he was coached by Tyler Peterson, the Arrows’ offensive line coach. Tate was a first-team, all-state selection and was awarded the player of the game award twice.
After Kosciusko, Tate signed a football scholarship with the Hinds Community College Eagles, where he would long snap for two seasons, finishing runner-up to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCC) in the MACCC Championship Game and receiving a bowl berth in the Graphic Edge Bowl.
Following his two years in Raymond, Tate moved on to long snap at Delta State University and helped the Statesmen compile a 5-6 overall record in 2021. It was then that Tate determined he was ready for his coaching career to start in 2021.
“I have always loved the game, and I had picked a degree in the medical field; but, after one semester, I realized I wanted to stay in football for the rest of my life,” Tate said. “I felt that coaching would be the way to go. Connecting with a group of kids, to do what I can to see their growth on and off the field,” Tate said. “It’s not just the wins. My biggest thing as a coach is allowing players the opportunity to live out their dreams on the football field.”
Tate’s previous stop was a coaching stint at Puckett High School, and he has worked as a private trainer for several football players who are long snappers on the collegiate level.
Tate’s responsibilities for the Arrows task him to the junior high teams, helping the Arrows start up their seventh-grade football program and assisting the eighth-grade team. He says he believes that an emphasis on the junior-high teams will help the Arrows tremendously.
“The younger players can more easily emphasize the fundamentals and build the base for the next levels,” Tate said. “[Clinton’s players] are one of the hardest working groups of kids I have seen, and they are all extremely respectful.”
Wells, a 2017 Clinton graduate and a member of the Arrows’ 2016 state championship team, brings back a wealth of football experience and knowledge to 401 Arrow Drive.
“I am back where I started, beginning my coaching career,” Wells said. “I’ve been around the world and played against very talented individuals who are NFL rostered now. It is a surreal feeling knowing that the experiences and football battles that I encountered are coming with me here. I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything. To know that I am back helping where I won my first football championship feels like I am giving back to this program that gave me so many playing opportunities,” Wells added.
Wells, as a high school sophomore, earned his first start for the red and black against Greenville High School during the 2014 season, kicking off a storybook career. The offensive lineman, under the leadership of Clinton’s second-year Athletics Director Judd Boswell, lifted the MHSAA Class 6A state Championship trophy in 2016, highlighting a 14-1 season for the Arrows. Wells earned Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Class 6A All-State Second Team recognition his senior season.
Wells signed a football scholarship at MGCCC and started nine games his freshman year. In his sophomore season at MGCCC, Wells blocked for a team that averaged 211.6 rushing yards per game, 36.7 points per game, and 412.1 yards per game. The season ended with a 7-2 record.
Wells garnered attention from several Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, including Arkansas, SMU, University of Texas-San Antonio and University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), and his recruiting journey landed him with a resurrected UAB football program.
While in Birmingham, Wells started in thirty-six games and was an integral member of the offensive line as the Blazers won the 2020 Conference USA Championship over Marshall. Wells earned First Team All-Conference USA recognition twice and was featured on the Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List, an award for the nation’s top collegiate offensive lineman.
Wells pursued a professional football career after UAB. He reached training camps for the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions and Memphis Showboats of the United Football League.
“It is very hard to get into the professional ranks, and I reached the point where I realized I was ready to give back to football, to coach,” Wells said. “I had learned a lot of ball from the greatest minds of college football. You don’t have to be at a big school to know ball. Cameron Blankenship, Richards Owens and the offensive mind of Bryant Vincent, all at UAB, put me in the framework to become a coach.”
Wells says he looks forward to imparting wisdom on the next crop of Arrows as he assists Peterson with the offensive line, along with other duties.
Wells says he looks forward to seeing the growth the players will experience.
“I am excited about [watching] the growth of the guys I have the privilege to coach,” Wells said. “The vibes indicate that this group of kids are really good kids. I like how they get after it.”
With a coaching career on the horizon and the season not quite a month away, Wells, most importantly, is ready for the beams of light to flood over him as the Arrows take the field on Friday nights.
“There’s nothing like Friday nights,” Wells said. “At any level, it is still football, but Friday night lights are the best moments of your life. It is a beautiful thing to see. High school football is probably football at its freest form.”
Arrow defense looks for improvement in 2024
By Danny C. Davis
Like the Clinton Arrow offense, the Clinton High School (CHS) defense is hoping for a lot of improvement from the 2023 season, when, like the offense, the defensive unit had their share of major injuries.
After good spring and summer drills, Arrow defensive coordinator Hammer Morgan says he feels good so far about this fall.
“We have experience coming back on the defensive line and at linebacker, and we are hoping a lot of young guys can step up in the defensive secondary,” said Morgan.
“I think our strength is up front on the line, where we have three starters back that played well last year.”
Returning are senior James Farr at defensive end and Dallas Johnson, who started last season as a ninth-grader. Also, senior Lazivan Tinner returns in the middle of the line at nose guard.
“We have six or seven guys vying for backup positions on the defensive line,” said Morgan. “But it is still too early to make decisions on who are the best backups.
Morgan said the defensive unit will at times line up either in a three-man front defensive line or a four-man front.
The Arrows also have experience returning at the inside linebacker position.
Junior Robsen Neblitt started the whole year in 2023, and junior Jaiden Jefferson was a bright spot on the defense but missed more than half the season a year ago with injuries.
Also vying for a start at inside linebacker will be senior Jack Grove, a transfer.
At outside linebacker will be Chad Holiday, a senior who had a very good spring and will be counted on this season. Three others are vying for a start at the “Bandit” linebacker position – senior Xaiver Jones, junior Donavon Shaifer and sophomore Jaden Walker, brother of starting quarterback Joseph Walker.
“All three of those guys are working very hard to get playing time,” said Morgan.
A lot of question marks are in the defensive secondary, where one starter returns, Justin Singleton, a senior defensive back.
“We have a lot of young guys this year at defensive back,” said Singleton. “But we feel like we are going to be better in the secondary this year when the new guys get some game experience.”
“We have a lot of kids fighting it out to start the other positions in the defensive backfield,” said Morgan.
Morgan is taking a look at juniors Cameron Cornelius, Ashton Nichols, Jaiden King and Trevis Coley, who are all vying for a start.
“We will be facing a lot of very talented offensive players like last year,” said Morgan. “Starkville has a very good quarterback that played against us as a sophomore two years ago. Tupelo has a very talented team with a tall quarterback who played the last two years at Boonville and has moved back to play at Tupelo his senior year. Germantown has the big running back/receiver we had trouble stopping last year. Madison Central has a very big offensive line. Brandon has a very good running back who scored a lot of touchdowns last year as a ninth-grader and who had over two hundred yards in a playoff game against Oak Grove. Warren Central has Nash Morgan at QB who threw a long touchdown against us as a ninth-grader last year. So, every week will be a tough challenge for our defense.”
One thing that could help the Arrow defense is an expected productive offense with a lot of weapons back.
Last year, three and outs and turnovers by the Arrow offensive many times put the Arrow defensive in a tough position on the short end of the field.
“I think the biggest thing this year is just staying healthy and avoiding injuries,” said Morgan. “If we can do that, we have a chance to have a good year on defense.”
Arrow offense to have a new look this season
By Danny C. Davis
There is a lot of optimism going into the 2024 football season on the offensive side of the ball.
New head coach John Carr has spent the past ten years at the Division 1 college football level as a wide receivers’ coach and has installed a high-tempo fast-paced offense for the Arrows this season.
That excites the players and the fans. But there is more good news, also.
The Arrows return starters on offense at every position – quarterback, running backs, offensive line and wide receivers.
As most Arrow fans know, in 2023, the Arrows lost all three quarterbacks to injuries, as well as linemen and, at times, receivers.
The good news is that senior quarterback Josef Walker is fully healthy and looking very good in the new offensive scheme. Walker says he is excited about the new offense.
“We are going to run the fast high-tempo offense that I am very excited about,” said Walker. “We will run a lot of RPO’s [run/pass option plays], and it will be my decision reading the defense as to where we pass or run. Coach Carr is also our quarterback coach, and he has taught me so much about reading the defensive alignments and the routes that our receiver will be running.”
Backing up Walker at QB will be freshman transfer Jayden Jones, who should see some action this year and who is thought to be the quarterback of the future for the Arrows.
Also tacking reps in practice as a backup at quarterback is sophomore Gage Temple.
The Arrows also return last year’s leading rusher, senior running back Jakobe Williams. He will be backed up by sophomore Aaric Beasley, who at 5’ 9”, 190 pounds, is, like Williams, a load to bring down. Williams played quarterback against Madison Central last year after Clinton lost its third quarterback to injury, and he ran the ball well against the Jaguars.
“I am also excited about our offensive line this year,” said Williams. “Our offense is going to be good, whether we are running or throwing the ball.”
Also seeing action in the backfield will be sophomore running back Tyler Dabney, who had good spring and summer workouts.
Clinton offensive line coach Tyler Peterson says he feels good about his players up front. On the offensive line will be Terrell Elizenberry, returning at tackle, and senior Amaree Good, returning at guard.
Senior Reese Watts will start at center. He will be backed up by junior Jacob Jones.
Sophomore Graham Williams will start at right tackle and has the size advantage at 6’ 3”, 300 pounds.
Peterson is also looking at sophomore Tyboris Lofton at tackle, who also has good size at 6’ 2”, 285 pounds.
Also in the mix on the offensive line will be Trace Tyson, a senior.
“We have practiced run blocking and pass blocking equally in the spring and summer,” said Peterson. “We have to be good at both. I feel good about where we are now with our offensive line.”
The Clinton offense most likely has the most depth at wide receiver.
Junior Aiden Knox leads the receiving unit with a lot of speed and ability to get open.
“As a wide receiver, I am very excited about our fast-tempo offense this year,” said Knox, who placed nationally this past summer at Texas A & M in the Junior Olympics 100 meter race.
“Coach Carr and Coach Barham have been trying to develop my hands and have been teaching us how to run the routes this summer. Josef has been throwing the football better this summer, too. I think our offense is going to be very good this year,” said Knox.
Junior Jayden Hollins will be the slot receiver and says he feels good with the new offense.
“We love this offense that allows us receivers more time to get open,” said Hollins. “And we will be throwing more this year.”
Also at wide receiver on the outside will be junior Duke Johnson and sophomore Jaden Johnson and seniors Jordan Bracey and Jayceon Macklin.
At tight end will be senior Phillip Burchfield, who missed a lot of last season due to injuries.
“I hurt my ankle in the first game at Warren Central last year, and [I] had problems with the ankle healing throughout the season,” said Burchfield. “I think we are going to be a lot better this year. Last year, we were within two or three plays of being close in most of the games we lost.”
Backing Burchfield up at tight end will be senior Jacob Patton and junior Tim Hopkins.
“Our receivers have worked very hard in the spring and this summer on running routes and getting separation and getting open,” said wide receiver coach Barrett Barham. “We feel really good about our offense going into the season.”
Arrow Touchdown Club holds “rebranding” event
By Danny C. Davis
Clinton High School has fielded a football team for over one hundred years since it began playing in 1920. The team has had a strong booster club since the 1950s to promote community support for the team. As a result, Arrows players have benefited over the years with pregame and postgame meals, award banquets, and any special needs for the program that required funding.
On Friday, August 2, the Arrow Touchdown Club sponsored an event at Arrow Field to “rebrand” the football Arrows and promote more support from all fans, former players and CHS alumni.
It also served as an opportunity for the Clinton community to meet new Arrow head coach John Carr, who became the nineteenth Arrow head football coach in April, as well as to tour the newly-redecorated football field house.
The event also included an address by the honorable former speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Phillip Gunn, who spoke to Arrow fans about the importance of Arrow football to the city of Clinton and the legacy and success of Arrow football history over many decades.
Gunn was quarterback for the 1980 Arrow team that was voted the #1 team in the state in the Mississippi High School Coach’s UPI Poll for 1980 after winning the Overall then-Little Dixie Conference Football Championship.
Following Gunn’s address, a Punt, Pass and Kick football competition was held on Arrow Field for children grades kindergarten through sixth grade, with winners named in each age group. Clinton High assistant coaches and players helped facilitate the event, and all proceeds supported the Clinton High School football team.
The field house and dressing rooms have been repainted in red, black and white, with a professional “wrap” throughout the walls displaying pictures of the history of Arrow football from the early 1950s to present day. Pictures include the legendary coaches Roy Burkett, James Sloan and Jerry Lyons, along with many great Arrow players over the years, such as quarterbacks Wayne Muse and Steve Jordan, running backs Coco Hodge and Donte Walker, and lineman like Richard Keys and many others.
Clinton’s most famous player, Cam Akers, now a running back with the Houston Texans, is pictured with all of his team as a Clinton Arrow, as a Florida State Seminole, as a Los Angeles Ram, and as a Minnesota Viking. Also, former Arrow offensive lineman Grant Williams, who played in the Super Bowl, is pictured as a New England Patriot. The wrap photos line the field house wall, and the wraps also feature pictures of recent players in the dressing room.
The pictorial historical wrap was completed by the metro Jackson company Digital Image Graphics (DIG), who has completed similar athletic pictorial wraps for the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State, and the University of Mississippi athletic buildings, as well as for many other colleges across the nation.
“Coach Carr really wants to connect with former Arrow players and alumni and fans,” said Nash Nunnery, who played on the 1972 Arrow team that finished 10-1 and were the first CHS team to win the overall Little Dixie Conference at Clinton. “He really wants to fill the stands and get more fans involved in the program, and this is a great opportunity to connect former players and fans with the current Arrow football team and create more community support.”
The event was planned by the current Arrow Touchdown Club President Tony Howard, who also serves as a volunteer assistant for the Arrow football team.
“A lot of people have worked hard in the off-season to create an event like this to get a lot of our former players and alumni involved to support the Arrows,” said Howard. “We only have four home games this year, and we need to fill the stands with Arrow fans at every game this year.”
“We are also working on staging a tent in the north end zone this season for all former Arrow players to meet during the games.”
“The Arrow Touchdown Club has funded a lot of projects for this season, from the cost of the pictorial wrap and new football cleats for over one hundred players for this season, to pregame and postgame meals for the coaches and players. These are projects and needs not funded in the school budget that the team needs help with each season. We have a lot more projects that will help the support our football program, if we can fund from fans buying season tickets and joining the Arrow Touchdown Club.”
For more information about the Arrow Touchdown Club, to donate or to join, contact President Tony Howard at ArrowsTDClub@gmail.com.
