Caruthersville 2-way athlete 'thinks' the game better than most

Caruthersville High School junior linebacker Jackson Napier swoops in for a tackle against Charleston earlier this season at Charleston.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Caruthersville High School junior linebacker Jackson Napier doesn’t rank atop the incredible Tigers’ squad this fall in tackles. He is second on the team in that important category. However, where Napier does rank higher than anybody else is more important (at least in the bigger picture).

Napier is ranked first in his class academically, and that level of intellect shows up on the field, according to third-year Caruthersville coach Dom Guglielmo.

“He’s a top kid in his class,” Guglielmo said. “He has a really high ACT. He does a lot of community service.

“He’s all of that kind of kid.”

Napier has proved to be a versatile player in his three seasons.

This season, he starts both ways at right guard on the offensive line, as well as inside linebacker, but he began his career offensively as a fullback.

“He got bumped into the linebacker role early last year,” Guglielmo said, “and he has taken off there.”

Napier has amassed 92 tackles this year, which ranks behind only the incomparable senior Tiger linebacker, Oscar Dominguez (149 tackles). However, you can’t fault Napier for that, after all, EVERY defensive player in the SEMO Conference trails Dominguez in tackles this fall.

“He’s a good football player,” Guglielmo said.

Another week, another rout for focused Caruthersville FB

Tom Davis

CARUTHERSVILLE -- Third-year Caruthersville High School football coach Dom Guglielmo entered this season wanting his young athletes to grasp the opportunity that lay ahead of them this fall, and here it is November, and there is little debate that the Tigers have done just that.

And a smart one, too.

“Whereas Oscar is very physical, mean, and nasty,” Guglielmo explained, “Jackson is really smart. Jackson sees the game differently. He can dissect the game differently.

“He’s almost an overanalyzer.”

In any event, Napier has “overanalyzed” his way into opposing backfields. He has totaled 13 tackles for a loss.

“(His intellect) works to his favor,” Guglielmo continued, “because he is not as mean and nasty as Oscar, but he is just as effective in his own right because he can diagnose plays.

“He puts himself in the right position.”

Napier has “put himself in the right position” throughout his career.

As a freshman, Guglielmo said Napier “was goofy,” and when his coach watched him, he just sighed “Oh boy.”

“You wondered where he would fit in,” Guglielmo said.

Napier was entrenched at fullback, but Caruthersville ultimately needed a right guard, and Napier never hesitated when asked to make the position switch.

“He just said, ‘OK, I’ll go there,’” Guglielmo recalled.

He has helped clear the way for Tiger speedsters Sammy Bryant and Jermonte Alexander, two players who have combined for 50 touchdowns this season.

The Tiger offense averages nearly 40 points per game this fall, which is the most since 2019.

Defensively, Napier, Dominguez, and the remainder of the Tigers on that side of the ball, have limited opponents to a mere 15 points per game, which is the stingiest Caruthersville defense since 2010.

The Tigers will be tested tonight, as they host East Prairie (8-2) at Hopke Field at 7 p.m. in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Playoff semifinal.

The Eagles’ eight victories are the most since 2009.

East Prairie rides junior runner Tavion Ware a lot, and he has gained over 1,400 yards this season.

The Eagles’ 49-29 win over Scott City last week was the program’s first postseason victory since 2017.

“Biggest takeaway was our players handle a team fighting toe and nail the whole game,” first-year East Prairie coach Ian Penrod told Semoball.com following the win. “When Scott City landed a blow, we landed one back.”