Bearcats, Tigers on quest to continue memorable seasons

No one knew what to expect when the Caruthersville High School leadership hired some “outside the box” guy to lead the swirling Tiger football program in January 2022.

Dom Guglielmio, who had experience coaching at the college and high school levels, but was an East Coast guy, was being asked, not just to relocate to the heat and humidity of the Bootheel, but also to restore some semblance of stability to the program, which Caruthersville Schools Superintendent Brad Gerling had done much in that regard while serving as interim coach through the trying 2021 season.

Nearly two years into Guglielmio’s tenure, the unconventional hire is paying dividends, as the Tigers are winning, and the Caruthersville student-athletes are buying into Guglielmio’s standards.

“A lot of the (buy-in) comes from the kids,” Guglielmio said. “They get themselves warmed up now. They do all of the little things. They cleaned up the locker room on their own yesterday.

“It may seem like minor things, but when they are doing it on their own, and we’re not trying to be a pain for them to do this, and this, and this, then you are starting to roll.”

Caruthersville (3-2) is certainly doing just that this fall.

The Tigers could match last season’s win total (four) with a victory at Dexter today at 7 p.m.

“Caruthersville is really good,” second-year Bearcat coach Chad Jamerson said. “Oh, my goodness. They are a borderline exceptional football team.

“They are on the cusp of being really, really good.”

So is Dexter.

The Bearcats will vie for their fifth victory in six outings today, which would guarantee the program a non-losing season for just the third time in 12 seasons.

In 2011, the 10 Bearcat seniors were in their first year of schooling when Dexter enjoyed a 9-2 season. Now, those same athletes are producing offensively (37 points per game) better than any Dexter squad since that special year, and better defensively (15.2 points per game) better than any Bearcat team in Lord, knows how long?

“I’ll be honest,” Jamerson said when asked about the historical significance of this season, “we don’t have that much foresight. We just think about today.”

That is probably a good thing because Caruthersville has athletes that can cause concern for Dexter on every snap of this game.

“The first thing that jumps out to me,” Jamerson said, “is their offensive and defensive schemes. Their offensive scheme is pretty intricate.”

Caruthersville’s most recent victory was a road win at Kennett, in which Guglielmio’s offense dropped 40 points on the Indians.

“The (offensive scheme) looks quite advanced,” Jamerson continued. “They have some really clever ways of getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers.”

Jamerson said the top Tiger threat is junior two-way starter Jermonte Alexander.

“He is long, lean, strong, and extremely explosive on film,” Jamerson said. “He is a kid who is, really, on the cusp of making noise throughout the whole state of Missouri.

“They are a really, really sound football team on offense.”