Farmer is key component to Bearcat success on AND off the field

DONIPHAN – It didn’t take Dexter High School senior football player RJ Farmer long to leave his mark in Friday’s game at Doniphan.

The two-way starter took the opening kickoff back 80-plus yards for a touchdown, which put the Bearcats up 7-0 and the visitors never looked back as they routed the shorthanded Dons, who had just 15 available athletes, 54-6.

It also didn’t take Farmer long to make an impression on Bearcat coach Chad Jamerson when he took over the program last season.

“RJ is your senior, do-it-all-for-you player,” Jamerson said. “When I first moved to Dexter and took this job, RJ, among a few other kids, was the first one that I got to know. His attitude was, in a word, infectious.”

As good as Farmer is ON the field, he has been every bit as stellar OFF it.

Farmer has exhibited leadership in the Bearcat locker room over the past two seasons and is one of the key reasons why the Bearcats (4-1) have their best record since 2017 this fall.

“He is very relatable,” Jamerson continued. “He is very down to Earth, and he works. Kids and coaches gravitate to RJ because of the type of person that he is.”

Whatever Jamerson has asked of Farmer, and he has asked a lot, the young athlete has done with no questions asked.

Farmer lines up as a defensive back this season, but over his four-year career, has played every position on defense outside of nose tackle.

“He works hard in the weight room,” Jamerson said, “and RJ works hard to be a good leader.”

Jamerson said it wasn’t just game nights where Farmer shines.

“RJ brings something extra special to practices and to games,” Jamerson explained, “that you really can’t coach.”

Throughout this season, Farmer has been asked to cover speedy wide receivers, take on tight ends blocking, and come up to stop runs by powerful backs, and he has thrived.

“He plays with a chip on his shoulder,” Jamerson said. “RJ plays bigger than the 165 pounds that he is.”

When Jamerson came to the Dexter program following the 2021 season, the Bearcats had only had one winning season (2021) over the past decade, and that was a 6-5 mark that included one victory by a forfeit.

Jamerson needed kids to be committed to accepting a new perspective and Farmer helped the new coach immensely in that regard.

“I feel like RJ was one of the first guys to really believe the message that I brought,” Jamerson said.

Farmer’s impact in the locker room was even more impressive because he wasn’t a two-way starter, at least initially.

On offense, Jamerson had then-senior Kaeden Kennedy starting at the “X” receiver/back spot, and with good reason, Kennedy was very good. However, when Kennedy suffered a season-ending knee injury early last fall, Farmer stepped into that role and filled in very well.

Farmer finished the 2022 season with a team-high number of carries.

“RJ really took the responsibility on offense, in trying to make things happen for us,” Jamerson said. “He has been so valuable because he has been a pied piper and brought guys along to buy into what the message is.”

The Bearcats will host Caruthersville (3-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Doniphan (0-5) will travel to Pleasant Hope with Halfway on Friday at 7 p.m.