Marianna returns star RB, roster filled with depth

MARIANNA, Fla. ( WMBB ) — The Marianna football team is excited to build off last year’s success, returning an even deeper roster and their superstar running back this season.

In year one under head coach Jack Glover, the Bulldogs finished with a 1-9 record. Last year, they put that in the past with a 6-5 finish that included a playoff appearance. This year, Glover said everyone is bought into the Bulldog pride.

“Attendance has been great,” third-year head coach Jack Glover said. “We got kids coming out on top of kids wanting to play, which is a good thing. We have to buy helmets, which is not a good thing.”

6’7″ senior, Ja’cobi Hall has been a key player on the Marianna basketball team. In his final season, he decided to give football a shot.

On top of Hall, the Bulldogs have another 6’5″ athlete who joined the roster. Those two athletes are giving the Marianna passing game a whole new threat.

“If I ever get in trouble, I’ll just throw it up,” Marianna senior quarterback RJ Mayes said. “I know they’re going to make the play for me.”

Under center for the second straight year will be RJ Mayes. In his first year at quarterback, he threw for over 1,300 yards. In his senior season, the expectation is for that number to grow.

“We haven’t really had that quarterback stability since Coach Donaldson was here,” Glover said. “Now we got a back-to-back quarterback coming back that’s willing to work and lead the team.”

The shining star from last year’s team is easily running back Amari Clemons. He was a break-out star in the Panhandle and finished his sophomore season with 25 touchdowns and 124.1 rushing yards per game.

“We know once we give it to him, it’s either going to be a touchdown or a large gain,” Mayes said.

The Bulldogs didn’t struggle much on offense last season, but they did struggle to stop the scoring.

“Defense had some mistakes last year, but this year everybody is bought in,” Clemons said. “Everyone can play everyone on the field. Having them makes the job easier because they can go 3 and out. It’s that simple.”

The Bulldogs are returning quality and quantity on both sides of the ball after graduating a small senior class. Coach Glover is most excited about the defensive potential.

“Last year we outscored people,” Glover said. “This year, I want to stop people and outscore them. I want to be able to put some zeros up this year.”

Marianna will host Sneads on August 16, for the preseason kickoff classic and open the regular season at home with Walton on Friday, August 23.

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