Caruthersville FB has 'narrow focus' on eve of challenging opener

Caruthersville High School senior quarterback Ryan Guest looks to make a throw during a drill in a recent training camp practice at the school.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Third-year Caruthersville High School football coach Dom Guglielmo has 31 of his 43 players this season returning from last season, so the knowledge of his players is exceptional.

“You are never going to win a football game unless you are good at your base stuff,” Guglielmo said. “If you’re not good at your base stuff, then you’re never going to win, and we’ve been running our base stuff since spring ball.”

For the first time in 10 months, the Tigers are going to test themselves against somebody other than themselves tonight.

Caruthersville will host St. Pius X (Festus) at 7 p.m.

‘They haven’t hit anybody new,” Guglielmo said of his players, “and they are ready to.”

Both programs are coming off seven-win seasons last year, and Guglielmo said his athletes are cognizant of just how special this season could be.

“I don’t want to use the word anxious,” Guglielmo said of his players’ mental state heading into their season-opening contest. “It’s more of a narrow focus. They understand the potential that we have this year. They understand that every game has a (postseason) implication on it.

“They understand that we went 5-0 at home last year, and this is our home opener against a team that these kids have never played. It’s a different level of focusing on what the end goal really is.”

Caruthersville FB has 'Restored the Roar' surrounding the program

Tom Davis

CARUTHERSVILLE -- It has been less than three years since Dom Guglielmo drove into the Bootheel to take over the Caruthersville High School football program. However, from a directional perspective, it may as well be 33 years. Guglielmo took over the Tiger program in the winter of 2022 after the program had lost its head coach mid-season, and some...

The Tigers return no shortage of talent and experience and are led by four senior captains in Jermonte Alexander, Kenyon Bogan, Ryan Guest, and Oscar Dominguez.

Alexander was an All-SEMO Conference Central Division First Team selection as a junior at wide receiver and will also start at defensive back for the Tigers this fall. He was an MFCA All-State Second Team honoree on defense a year ago.

“I don’t think that I have ever seen him take a play off in practice,” Guglielmo said. “He is that type of kid. He elevates the team with his pure athleticism and the fact that he never has a bad attitude.”

Guest will quarterback the Tiger offense, which averaged over 35 points per game. That figure was the most since 2019.

“He took over the quarterback role by storm this year,” Guglielmo said of Guest.

Perhaps no program has the talent at running back that the Tigers have in junior Sammy Bryant, who was a First Team All-SEMO Conference Central Division selection last fall.

The Tigers also return junior offensive lineman Ridge McGraw, who was an All-SEMO Conference Central Division First Team as a sophomore while another junior lineman, this time on defense, Jermaine Caruthers returns after an All-SEMO Conference season last year.

Obviously, Alexander is a massive key to the success of the Tigers, but Guglielmo said no player has the impact of Dominguez, who will seek to be an All-SEMO Conference Central Division First Team selection again this fall.

“You can tell a stark difference on our defense when Oscar is on the sidelines,” Guglielmo explained. “The intensity that he plays with, and the physicality that he plays with, it brings up the level of our defensive play.”

Caruthersville also has seniors Terrence Jackson, Evan Johnson, Gavin Motton, Willie Campbell, Malachi Parrott, Kaden Schoolcraft, and Emaurion Truss.