Tiger FB seniors step back in time to make an impact

Caruthersville High School senior football player Oscar Dominguez reads to a group of young students at Caruthersville Elementary School on Thursday.

photo provided

Members of the Caruthersville High School football squad are going to spend Friday evening reading the schematics thrown at them by their counterparts at Portageville High School, as the two teams open the postseason in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Playoffs. However, the senior Tigers spent time on Thursday reading in a more impactful manner.

The eldest athletes on third-year coach Dom Guglielmo’s team walked over the Caruthersville Elementary School and spent time interacting with the young Tiger students in the classroom, and later playing games with them in the gymnasium.

“It brings everything full circle,” Guglielmo said of the day. “They got to go back to where it all started for them.”

The Caruthersville senior players read stories to the pre-K and kindergarten classes and later visited Tiger defensive coordinator Brad Treece’s physical education classes.

Some Caruthersville athletes stepped back in time, more so than others.

Kindergarten teacher Rebecca Turnage had a pair of Tiger athletes read to her class, and she had served as their kindergarten teacher 12 years ago.

“Those (young) kids are going to take the same educational paths that the players did,” Guglielmo said. “Those pre-K and kindergartner students will always, in the back of their minds, remember the day that the varsity Tigers read to them.”

Caruthersville High School senior football player Kaden Schoolcraft reads to a group of young students at Caruthersville Elementary School on Thursday. (photo provided)

And vice versa.

“The big kids had more fun than the little kids,” Guglielmo said. “They were going off within the (football) group chat when they were at the school talking about how many books they read.

“I walked by and heard (Jermonte Alexander) talking with the kids about what they were dressed up as for Halloween. I got a video of Terrence Jackson reading and singing along to the book, and the kids were getting involved.”

For Guglielmo and his coaching staff, it was an opportunity to show others within the school system and Caruthersville community, what they know to be the case, his program is filled with good young men.

“I’ve seen them for 3 ½ years,” Guglielmo said. “I already knew what they were going to do. You walk down those halls, and you see how they were interacting with the kids, and how they made those kindergartners feel that they were the most important thing.

“It was awesome.”

As a coach and educator, Guglielmo spends as much time discussing life with his players as he does X’s and O’s, if not more. It gave him validation that the efforts of his players’ parents, teachers, coaches, and other mentors were worthwhile.

“It made me proud,” Guglielmo said. “Because they get to apply the lessons learned from football that aren’t tangible.

“All of those soft skills that we have been pushing and pushing and pushing, we got to see them in action. We got to see them care about people. We got to see them make people feel excited and important. They got to give back.”

The No. 2-seed Tigers (8-1) will host the No. 7-seed Bulldogs (4-5) at 7 p.m. at Hopke Field on Friday. Caruthersville topped Portageville two weeks ago 55-20 in Caruthersville.