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A common scene in Caruthersville was a FB W and the Bryant family there to see it
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
The Bryant family, (from left) Laila, Sammy, Samir, Latrice, and Sammy, gather following a Tiger game against East Prairie earlier this month at Hopke Field in Caruthersville.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com
The Caruthersville High School football season ended Friday with a defeat at Valle Catholic in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship game, which was an anomaly.
The common theme for every Tiger game this fall – aside from when they played the Warriors – was a resounding victory. A second commonality was the fact that the Bryant family was always there on the sidelines, literally in the case of Tiger freshman cheerleader Laila Bryant, supporting the team, which included junior runner Sammy Bryant, Laila’s older brother.
“Sammy has great parents,” third-year Caruthersville coach Dom Guglielmo said recently. “He comes from a great family. He comes from a really good household. He always has a smile on his face and tries to see the bright side.”
The oldest son of Sammy and Latrice Bryant, both lifelong Tigers, was a force to be reckoned with on the football field this season, if not at home.
“He’s annoying,” Laila said of her brother. “He picks on me and is very lazy (at home).”
Spoken like a true sibling.
Laila, who truth be told finally admitted to enjoying watching her brother run through defenses, said that Sammy devotes his attention to studying the game of football at home, if not doing the dishes regularly.
“All day long,” Laila said of how much younger Sammy thinks about the game he loves.
Guglielmo said Laila is a “carbon copy” of her mother, who is as exuberant while watching the Tigers as her husband is reserved.
“All the way,” Latrice said of her love of Caruthersville. “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.”
Interestingly, neither older Sammy nor Latrice played football or was a cheerleader in their high school days, but they sure follow those activities now.
While Laila and younger Sammy each referred to the other as “annoying,” Latrice said that Sammy’s biggest fan is his youngest sister, Lauryn.
“She loves her big brother,” Latrice said.
Younger Sammy enjoyed a spectacular season helping Caruthersville win the most games (10) since 2018 and the SEMO Conference South Division championship. He ran for 1,885 yards and averaged nearly nine yards every time touched the ball.
Bryant also reached the end zone 31 times.
“Sammy is a gifted football player,” Guglielmo said. “He really studies the run plays from his own vantage point (as Laila could attest). He has learned how to get the most out of the run plays. He focuses on that.”
Guglielmo said that when Bryant was a freshman, the Tiger coaches figured out that he was effectively running a play called “GT Counter,” and Bryant has honed his craft to become really effective at maximizing his yardage on that specific play call.
“He learned how to run it in the best way for him,” Guglielmo said. “Instead of being a cookie cutter running back, he has figured out what works best for him.”
As good as Bryant has been this season, ask anyone, Sammy included, and they are quick to say that he won’t end up being the best runner in the family.
“Samir is a sixth grader,” Guglielmo said of the youngest Bryant boy, “and he is going to steal the show.”
Latrice doesn’t hesitate to reiterate that opinion.
“He’s faster,” Latrice said of her youngest son. “He’s got quicker moves.”
With Bryant returning in 2025 for his final season, Laila having three more years of cheering on her favorite player and team, and older Sammy and Latrice in the stands for (at least) the next six years cheering on Caruthersville football, the future is bright for the red-and-white for years to come.
“Latrice always has a smile on her face and is giggling,” Guglielmo said. “She can bounce back from anything and that is, really, how all four of her kids are.”