Caruthersville FB trio honored as C2 All-State selections

Caruthersville High School senior football players Oscar Dominguez (55) and Jermonte Alexander (8) were recently named, along with Tiger junior running back Sammy Bryant to the MFCA Class 2 All-State Teams. Here, they lead the senior captains out to midfield prior to playing at Valle Catholic in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship game in Ste. Genevieve.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Caruthersville High School football defensive coordinator Brad Treece was born and raised in the Bootheel community and has spent over two decades either playing for the Tigers or instructing young athletes on how to excel. So, if anyone knows a player is unique, it would be Treece, and that is precisely how he felt about Tiger senior linebacker Oscar Dominguez this past season.

Dominguez was one of three Caruthersville players to recently earn recognition as Missouri Football Coaches Association Class 2 All-State athletes.

Dominguez and junior running back Sammy Bryant were named to the Second Team while senior “do everything” player Jermonte Alexander was named to the First Team.

Treece has known Dominguez was special for a while, but during this season after watching him make 17 stops in a rout of Portageville, that game confirmed his confidence in the young man.

“That whole fourth quarter,” Treece explained, “I never called the defense. I would hear what Oscar was calling, he would look at me, and I just said ‘Yeah, that’s good.’

“I told the (other coaches) ‘Do you know how rewarding it is to be able to stand on the sideline and hear your defensive captain call exactly what you are thinking?’”

That intellect – along with great skill and toughness – were reasons why Dominguez was named as the SEMO Conference’s top defensive player (the Derland Moore Award) recently.

“Oscar is relentlessly aggressive,” third-year Tiger coach Dom Guglielmo said this past season. “That is hard-wired into a kid. You can teach a kid to hit, but you can’t teach a kid to be relentless, physical, and aggressive at all times.”

The three Tigers led the program back from the cinders a few years ago.

After Alexander and Dominguez were on a two-win team as freshmen, that number improved to four in Bryant’s freshman season, to seven victories a year ago.

This season, the Tigers finished 10-2 with those defeats coming at powerhouse Valle Catholic, and the Caruthersville won the SEMO Conference South Division championship.

“Those seniors left (Caruthersville football) better than they found it,” Guglielmo said following the season. The seniors bought in. They got coached hard and earned a SEMO Conference (South Division) championship.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what they accomplished.”

Caruthersville High School junior running back Sammy Bryant finds yards against Valle Catholic in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship game last month in Ste. Genevieve. (Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com)

Alexander recently signed to play his at the next level at NAIA program Culver-Stockton College after rushing for 1,400 yards, catching passes for nearly 500 yards, scoring 26 touchdowns, making 70 defensive stops, deflecting 15 passes, and intercepting 11 throws. Of the latter category, three were returned for scores.

“Jermonte is a kid who can play in the slot, running back, wide receiver, defensive back,” Guglielmo said. “He can really do it all (and) he can do it all at a really high level.”

Bryant was honored after rushing for 1,885 yards and scoring 31 touchdowns this season. He led the SEMO Conference in scoring and was named First Team All-SEMO Conference and First Team All-District, as well.

“Sammy is a gifted football player,” Guglielmo said. “He really studies the run plays from his own vantage point. He has learned how to get the most out of the run plays. He focuses on that.”