By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
Parkers Chapel heads into the 2017 season seeking to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
But while the Trojans have been able to qualify for the postseason, Parkers Chapel has not been able to advance beyond the first round since knocking off Walnut Ridge back in 2010.
Now the Trojans have turned to one of their own to try and take the next step.
Jacob Midyett, who was the starting quarterback when the Trojans first qualified for the playoffs in 2009, is back as Parkers Chapel's new coach.
"It's been a work in progress," Midyett said. "We're changing something up blocking-wise and scheme-wise. The kids have had to learn new stuff. We're trying to hit those new skills and schemes and put it together team-wise. It's been a work in progress for both of us, as far as them learning the scheme and me learning how to run practice and to get everything we want accomplished in a timely manner and not have people standing around and making sure everybody is doing something. They've done great so far. They're picking it up pretty well. I think we're getting there."
When Midyett first took over earlier this year, being more physical was the top priority.
"It's more of a mentality change," Midyett said. "We're not going to get bigger and faster so much that in a year that we have a completely different team, but mentality-wise, I think you can.
"Some of that has been excitement. We're new. We're changing things up. We're trying to do things differently than what's been done in the past, and that excitement has turned into being a little more physical with more energy and emotion during practices. I think that midnight practice helped with that. That night, we had a lot of excitement, and we were bouncing around."
Since the Trojans adopted football, wins against local powerhouses have been few and far between.
The Trojans own just one win over Rison and Bearden, and have gone winless against Junction City and Harmony Grove with none of those games being very close.
Now Midyett is trying to instill confidence that the Trojans can compete with some of the top programs in the state.
"That's been the mentality ever since I was here," Midyett said. "We play Bearden, Junction City and we come out, and it's, 'Oh my gosh, we're playing not only this Junction City team, but every other Junction City or Bearden team that's been good.' They've got to see that, 'Look, it's the same 11 people on the field. They're the same age as you. You've played against them your whole career.' They can't beat you before kickoff starts. That's been a problem here, and that's what we're trying to fix right now."
As far as his vision for the program, Midyett said he is looking for the Trojans to keep making progress.
"Just growth right now," Midyett said. "We're not at the point where we can come in and say, 'OK, we're going to compete for state championships every year, and that's the end goal.' We're not there as a program yet. The closest we've gotten is conference runner-up, so we're setting little goals first.
“We want to get out of the four seed for the playoffs for the first time and just grow from there. Once we reach that goal, we'll start looking for conference championships. Once we get to conference championships, we'll start looking for deep runs. Once we get deep runs, we'll start looking for state championships."
Midyett added that the response he has received from the community has been positive.
"It's been great," Midyett said. "It's good and bad, because I grew up with most of them and know most of them. There's a lot of support, but I'm sure there's also a lot of expectations because of what I was able to do as a player.
“It doesn't bother me. It's a challenge, and I like challenges, but in the same sense, it's a different role and mindset I'm going to have to have and do the best I can."
Earlier in August, the Trojans had a special practice at midnight to commemorate having the opportunity to practice in full pads, and it was a surreal moment for Midyett.
"It was the first time I had seen the lights on at the field in a long time, and it was exciting," Midyett said. "It was a different feeling than it was when I was a player, because I'm not going to strap on pads and get to go do something, I'm going to sit on the sideline and try to get it done. It will be exciting. It's just another day. I've got to get over the excitement and get the job done."
Before arriving back at Parkers Chapel, Midyett was an assistant coach at South Lafourche, a 4A school in Louisiana, and Midyett said he will be keeping a close eye on handling the lower numbers the Trojans have.
"It's going to be something that we're going to have to watch as a coaching staff," Midyett said. "If a kid that we rely on heavily on offense is playing a bunch of defensive snaps, someone has to get him.
"We're trying to get these kids in the best shape as we can, but in the same sense, as much as we do out here, it doesn't necessarily compare to game reps.
"The first couple of games will be a good test of that and trying to make sure we're not killing one side of the ball. Those guys that do both sides that have a backup that are very capable, we'll mix and match that way. It's going to be a learning process."
As far as the 8-2A is concerned, Midyett believes his team has the opportunity to be in the thick of the playoff race.
"We're taking every conference game the same," Midyett said. "We feel like we can go on the field and play with them. We feel like we've got a chance to win every ballgame, but in the same sense, if we don't do what we're coached to do or we do what we've done in the past, then we're not going to win many games."
Midyett said winning the battle in the trenches will be vital to his team's success.
"We've got to be physical up front," Midyett said. "We need to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and be able to impose our will. If we're able to run the ball, then we're able to throw the ball. If we're a team that's going to line up four or five-wide and throw it on every down, I don't think we'll be as successful. We need to be balanced and do things in different ways."
Although the Trojans may not be one of the favorites in the 8-2A, Midyett believes his team has the opportunity to surprise some people.
"We have a very good, athletic senior class," Midyett said. "We got a couple of more athletes that didn't play in the past couple of years that have come out and have given us a little more depth at some skill spots.
"Up front, we've got some good size, so realistically, we're excited. We think we have a shot to surprise some people, and if anything, compete more than we did last year. We want to be more competitive.
"We don't want to be mercy-ruled in the third quarter. That's the mindset we've got to have, and once they see that little bit of success, we can grow from there."