Clinton realizes his dream in signing with Shorter
Ringgold’s impressive recent history of sending offensive linemen on to play at the next level continued this past Wednesday when senior standout Scott Clinton put his name on a letter of intent to play for the Hawks of NCAA Division II and Gulf South Conference member Shorter University.
“(Signing) means everything to me,” Clinton said. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I started playing football. I just love the sport and I’ve always wanted to play in college.”
Clinton was an honorable mention pick in Region 6-AAA as a sophomore and as a junior before earning second team status this past fall. He was also a Catoosa-walker Dream Team honorable mention pick in 2019 and earned first team honors this past season after finishing
as the highest-graded Tiger on the line.
He was also named to the
Wrestling Dream Team honorable mention list after last season.
“I think it was the environment that drew me to Shorter, plus the academics,” he explained. “I want to be a youth pastor and that was one of the main things, and then the football team, of course.”
Ringgold coaches, both present and former, spoke during the ceremony and described Clinton as a “rock” and a “warhorse”, adding that he was the perfect example of a player who always put the team’s priorities before his own.
“Scott is one of the most excellent linemen we have had since I have been here,” head coach Robert Akins said. “He’s dedicated to being the best, on and off of the field, and we’ll miss him next year.”
“They’re getting a very unselfish player,” said Tigers’ assistant Austin Crisp. “He’s a kid who truly cares about his teammates and cares about the program he plays for. Yes, he cares about the wins and losses, but he also cares about other people’s character. (Shorter) is getting just an absolutely phenomenal player.”
Clinton said he would miss his teammates at Ringgold and that he planned to bring a tireless work ethic to the Hawks. Akins also said his former player’s physical strength would be another big plus in his favor.
“He’s as strong as an ox,” Akins added. “I spotted him doing a 500-pound squat just a couple of days ago. He’s as competitive as any player anywhere.”
Crisp also spoke of Clinton’s character.
“Very few high school kids have the high character that he does and the fact that he’s going to school to be a minister really speaks of him with his morals and everything else,” Crisp added. “He’s just a great person too.”
Shorter’s 2021 spring schedule currently calls for them to open at Kennesaw State on Feb. 27.
Pittsburgh, Pa. is the home of Heinz Ketchup, Primanti Brothers famous sandwiches and the NFL’S vaunted Steel Curtain.
And for the next few years, it will be the home of Jamario Clements.
Lafayette’s senior running back is headed north to the Steel City where he will be suiting up for the Dukes of Duquesne University after signing with the program last week.
The 5-foot-9, 200-pound battering ram had offers from a number of Division I schools, both on the FBS and FCS level, but eventually found a home in western Pennsylvania.
“(College) recruitment wasn’t always roses and rainbows,” Clements explained. “It’s been crazy and this was kind of like a last minute thing, but (Duquesne) got me on a Zoom call and a virtual visit and I really liked it.”
Lafayette head coach Paul Ellis said Clements would be going to play for an established program with an established coach.
“Their coach ( Jerry Schmitt) has been there for 16 years and we found out today that they’ve got a brand new weight room up there, so (Jamario) will eat, sleep and drink that,” Ellis said, speaking of Clements’ dedication to the weight room. “He’s got the strength and he’s got the side-to-side movement and the jump-cuts. He just needs to continue to focus on his blocking because to me, that’s how you might get an opportunity to go to the next level and he will because he’s that kind of guy. He’s a hard worker.”
Clements was an honorable mention All-state pick by Recruit Georgia in his junior and seniors seasons, as well as a Catoosa-walker Dream Team first team pick the past two years.
As a junior, he burst onto the scene with 1,196 yards and 14 touchdowns on 183 carries. Then this past fall, the speedy powerback picked up 992 rushing yards, 17 rushing TD’S and two more scores as a receiver in just seven games, earning first team All-region honors.
His resume includes a 20-carry, 250-yard, twoTD performance against Pickens in 2019 and had 150 yards rushing and three scores — in the first quarter alone — in a region win over Murray County earlier this season. He also had a four-touchdown night in a key 6-AAA victory over Ringgold that helped send the Ramblers to the playoffs for the first time in 27 years.
“He’s going to be great because of his work ethic,” Ellis continued. “And he’s going to be a good student and that comes first and foremost because that is what will carry him throughout his life.
“This is also special because, to me, (with COVID) this has been the hardest year ever to get a scholarship coming out of high school. Everything’s been compressed from the top down, so we’re super proud of him for that. He’s a great football player and he’s an even better person on top of that. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Clements said the Dukes’ coaching staff was a big selling point.
“I really like the coaches,” he added. “Their running backs coach is one of their all-time leading rushers, so it will be great just to learn from him. I’m going to just bring hard work and leadership. I just want to bring everybody there together and have a good year.”
The Dukes have won five Northeast Conference championships in the past eight seasons and made a pair of trips to the FCS playoffs. They had a seventh straight winning season in 2019, their 11th in 15 seasons under Schmitt, who has seen nine players earn invites to NFL rookie camps over the past four seasons.
Clements said he plans to study finance and business administration.
Since the time that our children were very little, our family has always gathered together at night time before bed to pray together. This is always the most enjoyable time of the day. We spend a good while talking together about everything that is going on in their lives and days. We laugh, we cry, we just enjoy being together. And then, after we talk, we find out what and who everyone wants to pray about, and then I pray aloud. That generally lasts five or ten minutes, and it always feels to me like we are almost physically entering into the throne room of God, even though I know our bodies have not moved so much as an inch.
Just to know that five Wagners are praying together and that the God of the universe is taking time to hear each individual word or thought is utterly breathtaking to me.
Recently, though, that was not the only thing breathtaking during our prayer time.
I remember vividly that I had finished praying for each of the kids and for Dana, and was just starting on praying for a few of our church members who were facing sicknesses and surgeries. And that is when it hit me like a cloud of mustard gas over the Western Front of World War I. I tried to keep praying; after all, being in communication with the King of Kings is a serious thing. And yet, though no sound had been made and I, therefore, could not identify the direction and identity of the putrid personage, the wave of stench continued to buffet me, only increasing in intensity, until finally in desperation I blurted out, “And Lord, forgive whoever did that, and I’m sorry, but I have to go now!”
The room erupted. Some of the occupants were pointing out the assailant. Others were burying their head in pillows as if they were gas masks that could possibly save them from certain doom. The offending farty, um, I mean “party,” was rolling on the floor and simultaneously laughing hysterically while apologizing profusely.
I have never... ever encountered an odor like that.
Yes, I know, preacher’s families are supposed to be immune from that sort of thing. Even the baby’s diapers are supposed to be tidy and pleasant. But there is this thing called “humanity” that happens to all of us, even preacher’s families, and even during sacred times.
And I am so glad that all of us are comfortable enough in God’s presence just to “roll with it after someone lets it roll.” If such a thing was ever done intentionally I would make sure there was judgment that followed; but when a body just does what bodies do, I am going to trust that the God who gave us laughter does not mind us using that gift at that moment.
We always tell people to pray. Kids grow up hearing us say that, especially in church. And yet the way they often hear us pray, I fear, is in such a way that they view God as “adultish and unapproachable.” Yes, we are to realize we are in the presence of the King when we pray. But somehow the standard, churchy, “Oh our beneficent God, thou who inhabitest the praise of thy people whom thou alone hast redeemed for thy glory, may thine eyes of favor be upon us as we prostrate ourselves before thee” does not seem to draw people into a life of prayer. And a life of prayer, not just a church performance of prayer, is in fact what we are called to. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 does not tell us to “pray in church,” it tells us to “pray without ceasing.”
And so we have simply taught our children to talk to God. We have taught them to be respectful, but also to be honest. We have taught them that God already knows how they are feeling anyway, so they may as well not pretend in His presence. We have taught them to be real. If they are angry, they know that they can tell Him so. If they are doubting, they know they can express that without Him being offended in the least. If they are scared, they know that they do not have to pretend to be brave.
We have also taught them not to be afraid to laugh in the throne room of the God who gave us laughter. I believe that approach is one reason that we actually have three young adult praying children.
And so we will simply scrape up the paint that was so unceremoniously and maloderously peeled off of the walls and chalk it up to a very memorable prayer time. I rather suspect that they were doing the same thing in heaven the next day as well thanks to one of us who shall remain nameless.