Alexander is the star that never stops shining for Caruthersville

The Caruthersville High School football squad has worked its way to a .500 mark following six games this fall, so obviously the Tigers haven’t been perfect in their play in 2023. However, even in the losses, the latest being a 46-28 defeat at Dexter on Friday, Caruthersville is worth the price of admission because of its explosive ability on offense, defense, and special teams.

“We traded blows during the game,” second-year Caruthersville coach Dom Guglielmio said following the loss to the Bearcats.

“That, his team did.

The Bearcats, who have no shortage of playmakers of their own, led 19-0 when Tiger sophomore Sammy Bryant tore off a 71-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

“Caruthersville does some stuff,” second-year Dexter coach Chad Jamerson said afterward, “that is a little unorthodox up front, and it gave us some fits. We knew that would happen.”

Jamerson, and the remaining coaching staffs who still must face the Tigers this season, will have no issue figuring out that Caruthersville has some athletes who can score thisquick.

Bryant finished with 77 yards rushing, but the real threat to the opposition was junior athlete Jermonte Alexander.

Alexander hauled in a 62-yard touchdown reception from Caruthersville quarterback Jared Hudgins and later had a scoring reception of 75 yards from a different Tiger thrower, junior Ryan Guest.

“Jermonte is elusive,” Guglielmio said. “He is fast. His football IQ is high.

“The sky is the limit for him.”

Alexander was a threat in every way imaginable on Friday.

Not only was he catching passes (four receptions for 153 yards) regardless of who was throwing him the ball, but he closed the night by returning a kickoff 94 yards for a score with just 4:27 remaining in the game.

What made that feat even more spectacular was the fact that he did so after playing every snap – on both sides of the ball – all game.

“Injury or not,” Guglielmio said of Alexander, “adversity or not, that kid is going to go 100 miles per hour on offense and defense. When he does take a break, he’s out, gets a drink of water, takes a deep breath, and is back in there for the next play.

“He runs that kickoff back and then goes back out there and plays defense. You can’t ask for heart like that.”

And Alexander didn’t just “play defense,” he excelled defensively against the high-scoring Bearcat offense.

Alexander and Tiger teammate Oscar Dominguez tied for a team-leading nine tackles with six of Alexander’s stops being solo stops.

“He’s got a grin all of the time,” Guglielmio said. “The Teachers love him. He’s humble. You get a superstar like that… you may think ‘Oh, this guy is going to be a jerk,’ but Jermonte is not.”

Caruthersville will host Charleston (2-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

A victory over the Blue Jays will match the Tigers’ win total from last season with at least three games remaining this year.

Four victories would also be the most for the Caruthersville program since 2019.