Competition Within

MADISON – The 2025 high school football season is just weeks away with each team, player and coach ready for another campaign of competition.

For many of the area teams, competition within has been underway since earlier this year’s spring practices as coaches have encouraged their players to fight for a spot on the team and starting lineup. The purpose of doing so is to arrive at the best player available for the action and to teach each player how to face adversities and be able to handle their duties as a player in even the most hostile situations.

“In practices, especially in full pads, the competition level never changes as it’s always at the top,” said Mason Rose, senior defensive back for James Clemens, which looks to better its season a year ago that saw the Jets lose five of its last seven games. “Anytime there’s one-on-ones or in any drills it’s always full effort as if one of us slacks off we’re not making anyone better as in a real game we have to take control and never slack off. We’re going to go 100-percent every play as the competition within our team makes us get ready for a game and all of our lives.”

Sparkman’s defense played well last season allowing just 23 points per game and the Senators’ defense looks to be even better in 2025 thanks in part to battling for position within the squad. “Yeah, I work out sometimes with my dad in the gym with hopes to make me stronger, faster and more physical so I can continue my starting role at middle linebacker and also move to outside linebacker this year,” said senior Blake Battle of Sparkman. “The competition has helped as I want to be able to cover wide receivers man-to-man when needed and make sure my teammates can rely on me.”

The off-season many times presents players with an opportunity to advance in their skills and to show the remainder of the team they have stepped up their game to be leaders and can face any competition from either opponents or within the team.

“We’ve been in the weight room a lot more, we’ve been on the field getting a lot more schemes in to be season ready,” said Ajay Seaton, starting offensive and defensive lineman for the Class 4A Madison Academy Mustangs who fell in round two of last year’s post-season playoffs. “We’ve practicing a lot, preparing a lot. Once the games begin you’ll see 11 hats go at the ball on both sides of the ball as everyone will be working hard just as we did in the off-season.”

At James Clemens, the program has a new head coach in Juan Johnson who has brought new schemes, new looks and a new attitude into the Jets’ program and his wanting to see what each player is made of and what they can do on the football field has caused for some intense competition within the players.

“This team, even with the questions within, should be highly competitive with high energy,” said Johnson.

“I feel like the coaching staff has come in here this season has fed into us and has taught us new things we didn’t get from my past three years as it’s a different intensity,” said James Clemens senior wide receiver Alex Lively. “Yes, definitely a competition within our receivers as we have three guys who are fighting for a spot on the field. You only get three to four receivers on the field at one time so our high intensity competition is preparing us for the upcoming season.”

Tyler Karl, soon-to-be second year starter on the defensive line for Bob Jones, indicated this year’s squad should be better because of some changes due to the competition within the team to want some playing time. He said, “We’re going to have to work together and work harder every day and I think we’ve gotten a lot better I’ve noticed since we started because we switched to a mostly juniors starting, as juniors are heavily in the rotation. We’ve gotten better each day. We have a lot of potential and we can beat every team on our schedule.”

The fight within each team has been there. Now it’s time to carry that high-level attitude into game time.