News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days: St. Martin Yellowjackets
Life is a beach and St. Martin is just playing in the sand at stop number one on News 25’s 25 Teams in 25 Days.
For the first time in the history of WXXV’s award-winning series, we take it to the beach to see what’s new with the Yellowjackets on jersey reveal day.
“It’s just a little vacation day before we get back to all of that hard-nose football and everything.”
Middle linebacker Gavin Allen said, “I feel like this is well-deserved as well. I mean we’ve been working hard all summer, and for us to get out here and have some fun is really important it feels like to me, especially so we can just bond and trust each other in the game.”
On the back of what’s being regarded as the most-attended summer workout program in the history of St. Martin football, the Yellowjackets trading in their turf field for some sand to celebrate the end of the offseason.
The whole team getting the chance to mix it up in some cornhole, spike ball, wiffle ball, and of course, football, complete with a players versus coaches revenge volleyball match. “We got blown out last year, but it feels good to get another win against them.”
Quarterback Noreel White said, “It feels really good to get back on the coaches. We lost really bad last year, so I had to talk my stuff this year. Beat them by like five.”
Head Coach Ty Smith said, “We have a big match every year. We try to come down. I think they got us first game a while ago, so we’re fixing to get it back on here in a little while.”
Don’t look now, but the St. Martin football team going back to its blue-on-blue home unis this season as first worn by Assistant Coach/Jersey Model Jonathan Anderson. “I loved it. I’m glad we’re going back to the blue. The black was nice, but I love the good old-fashioned blue.”
Wide receiver/cornerback Monclair Brave said, “Fire! Man, those things are so hard. But yeah, I ain’t going to lie, my favorite jersey so far.”
“We got new uniforms. We got our helmets redone. It’s a whole new look. We want to represent St. Martin community, and show them what the kids are working for.”
Simply put, the Yellowjackets are working for a lot of stuff, especially the class of 2024. No senior has been a part of a winning team or a playoff team and the program as a whole is still searching for its first ever post-season win. Defensive tackle/running back Tykevian Well said, “It’s just the losing. We hated it. We don’t want to know what that feels like no more. We’re trying to put a change to it.”
“We’re hungry. I’ll tell you that. Obviously, I think everybody in here knows how many days it’s been since we’ve won a playoff game.”
“I think that’s the biggest thing is they’re learning how to win right now, and I’m excited for them.”
No where to go but up for the Jackets, who carry a 12-game district losing streak into the new campaign, but almost cracking the code in last year’s regular season finale against rival D’Iberville, losing by just a field goal.
However, St. Martin winning three of four in the non-district portion of the schedule en route to an overall mark of 3-8. “We’ve got to stay humble. We’ve got to take every game, like one game at a time, don’t focus on opponents that are like two or three weeks away, just focus on the opponent that we have up next, and then just try to dominate and game plan for them.”
Outside linebacker Landon Weber said, “I’m really excited. We came a really long way since last year, and I feel like our mental toughness – some teams might have better athletes and everything, but we’ll never back down from defeat or anything. We never lay down and just take it.”
“After that first game, we just felt like we were on top of the world for real. We’ve just got to keep that rolling. It’s going to be different though, because I’m not going to lie, I just don’t see nobody stopping me for real.”
Introducing St. Martin’s new QB1, four-star athlete and Arkansas commit Noreel White, wide receiver by trade, but at this point, just get the ball in the hands of the former News 25 Student Athlete of the Week and let the man work. “He’s a freakish athlete.”
“It’s unexplainable how much he can help our team, and especially mentality wise.”
“I feel really dangerous. I feel like Bray, just do whatever I want now. I’ve got to get Mr. 7A for real.”
“It’s kind of a double-edged sword in that aspect because you want him playing DB, you want him playing receiver, you want him playing quarterback, you want him – but the more we start looking into things, he’s the best quarterback on the team.”
Second year Head Coach Ty Smith goes onto call the new offense ‘multiple’ with more tight end packages and revamped running back room. “We’ve got a better running backs little core now, so it feels good knowing that if I don’t run, they’re going to have to chase them, and it’s going to be hell for anybody to be honest.”
“I’m excited to run the rock. I’m not even going to cap. I’m telling you, I’m telling you. It’s going to be there.”
The Jackets also feeling like a unified front on defense. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
“If you want peace, prepare for war. (What does that mean to you?) If you want peace, prepare for war. That’s what it means to me.”
“They want to come into our place, and then they think everything all sweet until we step on that field and put them helmets on and we just hit them, so if they want peace, have to prepare for war.”
Perhaps the biggest change in 2023, the entire varsity staff also coaching JV, ninth grade, and eighth grade as the Yellowjackets continue to build their colony as a part of the brand-new Class 7A.
They bring back about a dozen seniors and more than half their starters on their quest for St. Martin’s first trip to the playoffs since going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. “People should be scared because we have nothing to lose at all, and we are going to put our heart on the line every single game.”
“We want this senior class, the guys that’s worked as hard and stuck it out, we want them to taste a winning season, and I want them to go out knowing that whenever they come back four or five years from now, they’re the ones that kind of got the ball rolling back in the right direction.”
St. Martin kicks off the 2023 season on Friday, August 25th on the road at Vancleave.
