By John Henson

Contributing Sports Writer

It was a memorable welcome back to Class A football in 2023 for the Middlesboro Yellow Jackets, who posted a 9-3 mark and won a district title before falling to eventual state champ Pikeville in the regional finals.

Repeating will be quite a challenge for the Jackets and coach Larry French as they must replace eight starters on each side of the ball, which, on offense, equates to the loss of over 2,000 yards through the air and over 1,900 yards on the ground.

“It’s like changing diapers,” said Middlesboro coach Larry French with a laugh. “We’ve got an awfully young team with a lot of inexperience, but the kids have a great attitude and are working hard. We’re improving each day.”

With the youth on this year’s roster, the Jackets have spent a little more time than usual on the basics of the game.

“We just have to keep working on the fundamental part of it and try to get better each day,” French said. “I think if we do that, we have a chance to be a good football team by the time the season ends.”

The biggest loss for the Jackets is at quarterback where district player of the year Cayden Grigsby carried the Middlesboro offense with 2,023 yards passing and 898 yards rushing along with 26 touchdowns passing and nine on the ground.

Deacon Partin, a sophomore who transferred from Pineville, will take over at quarterback after completing 83 of 169 passes for 1,449 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games.

“I think he’s developing pretty good. We’ve been working on fundamentals,” French said. “He has a good, strong arm and throws the ball extremely well. We’ve got some good receivers who can catch the football. The combination of our receivers and his arm could be a good weapon for us.”

Senior receiver Xavion Shehan was third in receptions last year with 13 for 257 yards and will lead this year’s receiving corps that also Joseph Killion, Colt Bayless and Mekhi Young. French will need several receivers to step up in the Jackets’ spread offense.

Vincent Smith, a senior, was third on the team a year ago with 597 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in a limited role because of his value on defense and other weapons on offense.

“Vinny can play back there. We used him sparingly there last year because we didn’t have to have him,” French said. “He’ll be running the ball a lot more this year, as well as playing on defense, too. He has to be in shape and ready to roll.”

Malachi Coots will also play a bigger role on offense at both running back and receiver.

“Malachi will be a big playmaker for us,” French said. “We have several receivers who will help us. We also have some young receivers who have looked real good in seven-on-seven, but there’s no contact in seven-on-seven, so we’ll see how they look when that changes.”

Senior center Jaden Earle anchors the offensive line after moving from guard. Billy Choran and Christian Davis will also play big roles on the offensive front.

“We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who could step in there,” French said.

Smith led the team in tackles last year with 108, but the next eight on the list graduated. Bayless will join Smith at linebacker. Freshmen Jacob Tinnel and Cordell Partin will also play big roles on defense.

Coots can play end or linebacker. Earle, Choran and Davis are among the possible starters up front.

Killion and Shehan are expected to play key roles in the secondary. Several younger players are also battling for playing time.

“We’ve got a lot of kids who are pretty equal talent wise. They just have to show more effort to get on the field,” French said. ”We have to find some kids who can tackle. That will make the difference on who will play.”

French likes the Jackets’ athleticism on defense despite graduation losses.

“We lost some good kids there, no doubt, but our defense will be fast. We have some fast kids who can play there,” French said. “We have some kids who can get to the ball. They just have to be able to bring people down.”

Partin is expected to handle punting duties with Coots serving as the kicker.

After sweeping the district last year in their first season back in Class A football since 2002, the Jackets expect to face a tough challenge this year from a Williamsburg squad that brings back most of its key players. Harlan and Pineville could also be dangerous, according to French.

“We dominated the district last year, but there is a lot of talent coming back,” French said. “Williamsburg is probably the top dog. Harlan and Pineville have some outstanding talent at running back. I think all three of those teams will be improved.”