By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The Millington Trojans are moving around pieces and making adjustments to continue their dominance of Region 8-4A.
Gone are college signees Hunter Lucas, Remiello Thomas and Tommy Clifton. Head Coach Chris Michael has to replace a dual-threat quarterback and a pair of dominating linebackers. Up for the challenge are senior leaders like Adrian “Bug” Dowell, Reggie Caldwell, Hunter Smith and Devin Knight.
Smith, a part of the offensive and defensive lines, said Millington came of age in 2019 after a humbling M&M Bowl game.
“I think we came together really after the Munford game,” he recalled. “We got whipped. We came back the MLK-Prep game and did our thing and continued it for the rest of the year. I think that helped out Tommy getting the ball to Adrian, Reggie and the rest.”
Smith alongside his returning line mates will work hard to keep new quarterbacks McCoy Pugh, Perry Harold and others taking reps protected.
“The job of O-Line is to keep going, plug and play,” he said. “We loss two seniors. Now we have to plug in two new guys and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
When the crew upfront keeps the opposing defense neutralized, skill position players like Dowell and Caldwell will be dangerous. Caldwell was limited in 2019 because of injuries. He’s hungry to see time on the field at wide out, running back and maybe even quarterback.
“I’m going to try to avoid all injuries and try to have production,” he said. “I want to bring versatility.
“Take adversity head on,” Caldwell continued. “We have an inexperienced quarterback so we know it will be ups and downs with the offense. So our defense has to be on the strong side and something we can rely on to even help the quarterback out.”
Knight said the defense will do its best to score points and give the offense great field position throughout the season. Knight has emerged as one of the leading tacklers the past two seasons and has been groomed to be the leader of the defense.
“My role is going to slick be the same,” he said. “I have to step up and be the defensive leader. I have to make sure everybody is paying attention, doing their job and keep everything together.
“It feels good to have the target on our backs,” Knight added. “It makes us have to work harder in order to defend our championship. It gives us a little extra boost.”
The defense will get a boost from linemen like Smith, TJ Graves and Jeb Haley. Knight will be working with some young linebacker in his unit. But the secondary is full of experience with Milton Yarbrough, Garrett Haley, Cortlyn Barnes, Caldwell, Dowell and others.
Dowell made his presence felt in 2018 in the secondary with timely tackling and powerful hits. Last season, Dowell took on the challenge of his coaches to be more productive on the other side of the ball.
“My offense was good,” he noted. “Now I have to come even stronger and even better. My teammates know I’ve been putting in the work in order to take us to another Region 8-4A championship.
“Togetherness, we have to be a group,” Dowell continued. “We have to work together. We have that target on our back for a reason. We did something nobody else could do in our league. We have to go defend and do our thing.”
Dowell said the shaky offseason, limited practices and consistent uncertainty has made Aug. 21 take on an extra special meaning.
“It’s going to feel great,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting on. That’s why we’ve been practicing during the offseason. You get that feeling once the lights come on and the coaches start talking about it’s game time.
“Everything is going to click,” Dowell concluded. “The crowd is going to be loud, the band and even the news might be there. It don’t matter, we have to come out there and perform because it’s the season opener. You have to come out there and do your best.”
