Clay-Chalkville Football Preview: Cougars starting over after state title
Winning the 2021 Class 6A state championship was a tremendous accomplishment for the Clay-Chalkville High School football team. But, as is always true, that title offers no additional benefits on the scoreboard for the 2022 team.
It’s time to look forward to a new season for the Cougars.
“Like every other year, you start back over from ground zero,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Drew Gilmer said. “It’s been fun, but it’s like every year. It’s a new team and you’re trying to fit all the pieces together. We’ll see what we can do.”
The Cougars did graduate plenty of key contributors from last year’s squad, so it won’t be easy to defend that crown. But make no mistake, there are plenty of familiar faces with productive track records that have shown the capability to step up in big moments.
Gilmer likes what he sees from his team in the preseason and believes it’s a group capable of making another deep postseason run.
“We have more depth than we’ve had in the past on the offense and defensive lines, but it’s about putting those whole pieces together,” Gilmer said.
OFFENSE
The skill positions on the Clay-Chalkville offense were unmatched by just about every team in the state, outside of perhaps Thompson, last fall. From that group, the returners are headlined by wide receivers Jaylen Mbakwe and Mario Craver, who each had tremendous 2021 campaigns.
“What they’re going to have to realize is the light’s on them,” Gilmer said. “You’re going to have to step up and be leaders of this group.”
After the graduation of Khalib Johnson, it appears as if Kamari McClellan will be the next signal caller for the Cougars. The junior transferred from Oxford and has a versatile skill set.
“He’s a really good quarterback with a lot of tools, but we haven’t seen him do it with the bullets flying. We’ll put him in a position to be successful and bring him along as we can,” Gilmer said.
Ed Osley was a breakout star in the backfield last year, and the Cougars will be hoping for someone to step up in a similar fashion this fall. The running game is a significant part of the Clay-Chalkville attack, but a feature back had yet to emerge through the summer.
“We’re going to miss Ed Osley, but we’ve got some guys that we think can do it,” Gilmer said.
On the offensive line, Pierre White, AJ Williams and Adrian Spivey are all back as starters. Gilmer also mentioned Jac’Qawn McRoy as a player making a strong push for one of the vacant spots.
DEFENSE
Clay-Chalkville’s offense stole most of the headlines last season, but the defense was no slouch either. The Cougars allowed a hair under 16 points per game for the season, pitching five shutouts in 15 games.
The star of that defense returns in junior linebacker DJ Barber. He was sensational last season, earning all-state honors as a sophomore.
“DJ’s always been mature beyond his years,” Gilmer said. “He shows up every day and he’s all about business.”
Matthew Yafondo will join Barber in the middle of the defense this season, acting as one of the linebackers after playing in the secondary last fall.
Jamon Smith and Devin Finley are two defensive linemen back in the fold that will supply stability in the defense’s first line of resistance.
In the secondary, Cameran Jones seems ready to take a leap and become the anchor of that position group. Ormond Wallace will also get his shot on the backend, provided he can avoid the injuries that plagued him last year.
“It’ll be a fun group. A lot of the stuff we’re going to be doing is the same, but we’re going to be a little bit different, too,” Gilmer said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Without a reliable kicker on the roster, Clay-Chalkville eschewed traditional extra-point tries after the first couple of games of the season, in favor of two-point conversions after each touchdown.
It’s hard to argue with the success of that strategy, and the Cougars will likely employ it again this fall.
Gilmer said Craver and Mbakwe will get first crack at kickoff and punt returns, as both are threats to take it the distance each time they touch the ball.
SCHEDULE
Clay-Chalkville remains in Class 6A, Region 6, albeit with several different teams after the most recent round of reclassification. Pinson Valley remains, but Pell City, Oxford, Shades Valley, Center Point and Huffman will be new region foes.
Outside of the region, the Cougars will take on Briarwood and Hueytown to begin the season, two of the top teams in 6A a year ago. In the middle of the year, they will make a trip to three-time defending 7A champion Thompson.