Saints football team looks to break school records in playoff game on Friday

The Selma High School Saints football team is positioned to challenge history in the school’s program by winning a home playoff game for only the second time since the doors opened in 1970. 

The Saints have already matched the 1986 and 1987 squads by making the playoffs in consecutive seasons. 

Head Coach Will Gandy and his staff have led a young team to a 6-3 overall record, coming up just short of a Class 5-A Area 3 championship, finishing at 5-1. The Saints stumbled out of the gate to start the season but won 4 out of 5 games down the stretch. 

The Saints host Carroll High School of Ozark Friday at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. 

The Eagles come in to the survive and advance contest with a 3-6 mark, finishing third in Area 2. Coach Gandy touts his guys as having a good week of practice and being poised for this opportunity. 

“The young men and coaches have worked hard all season. Being on the road all season and nearly winning the area championship, our team has earned this chance to make history at the school and continue on into the playoffs,” said Gandy. “Having the support of the community is so important to the overall success of young people, not only football, but all sports and groups. We need the support of the whole community, support is a big thing, we need everybody to be there, family, students, faculty, board members, friends; the home side needs to be packed.”

Selma has been an offensive juggernaut since a 12-10 grind-it-out area win at Shelby County back in early September. Since then the Saints have averaged 40.4 points a game, mostly behind the play of senior co-captains Dion Nelson and Jevonte Stubbs. The pair has accounted for 48 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards between them. Stubbs has scored 28 touchdowns via rush, receptions, and kick returns. The speedy triple-threat athlete has returned 4 punts for touchdowns and taken 3 kickoff returns to the house. He has had 5 touchdowns nullified because of penalties.

“Stubbs is perhaps the best athlete and football player I have ever coached. I believe he will make a positive contribution to society; he has matured a lot,” commented Gandy.

Nelson has 5 touchdowns by rush, 11 by receptions, and has thrown 5 touchdowns. Nelson plays receiver mostly, but doubles as quarterback in some packages and handles all the kicking duties.

“Natural ability, you can’t coach 6’, 4”, 218 pounds, and 4.4 speed. He can do so many things, that is why I believe he will play on Saturdays and possibly Sundays,” Gandy said. 

The dangerous duo believes their team is ready for the challenge the playoff game presents. “It feels great to be in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, we’re trying to lead the team so everyone is on the same page, we’ve gotten better as the season has gone on and built a lot of trust. We feel like we’re in a good position,” said Stubbs.

The Area 3 runners-up have been focusing on shoring up some defensive concerns and have worked extensively over the open week to correct and improve the run defense. The Saints have also used the time in between contests to heal some nagging injuries and get mentally and physically healthy for the playoff.

“We’re in some good vibes and feeling excited to be in the playoffs back-to-back, it’s been a long time for our school and city,” Stubbs added. 

COVID-19 concerns and other circumstances limited the Saints to only one home game this season, so the team is hyped about this opportunity. One that the leaders say they are ready for. 

“We know we could not have had the seasons we’ve had without our teammates and coaches. Everyone is coming together and believing in ourselves,” continued Nelson. 

Selma and Carroll will take the field Friday night with the Saints having a chance to advance into the second round of the post season for the second time in school history.