The Sebastopol Bobcats enjoyed one of the best stretches in school history, winning 18 games in the last two seasons.
While the Bobcats are moving down to Class 1A this season, they must do so with of of the best players in school history.
The Bobcats will be without the services of two-time defending Class 2A Mr. Football in Adarius McDougle, who rushed for 4,030 yards in the last two years.
“He was a special talent that doesn’t come around very often,” Brown said. “Everybody knew who was getting the ball and he produced a lot of yards and TDs for us last year. This year it will be more by committee. You can’t just gear up to stop one player. One person is not going to be able to fill his shoes, it’s going to be a team effort.”
Taking McDougle’s spot at quarterback will be Samarion Jones with Wesley Hogue as the backup. At running back will be Dannon Jenkins, who had 388 yards on 67 carries. Jenkins will be joined by Jahoward Johnson and Lathan Jones.
At wide receiver will be Colby Dooley, Keyshawn Williams, Colt Reed and Nate Johnson. At H-back will be Michael Stewart and Trenton Bray. If the Bobcats use a tight end, it will be Stewart and Dalton Chamblee.
On the offensive line, Brown is looking to senior Joel Smith, Colt Shelley, Jenson Lang, Isaiah Smith, Lowry Moore, Derik Madden and Boots Johnson.
“We have to be able to run the football,” Brown said. “We are getting better at throwing and catching but that hasn’t been a strength for us. At any level, you have to be able to run and stop the run. We are trying to move some guys around and get our guys the ball out in space, that’s the name of the game.
On defense, Michael Stewart, Jenson Lang and Lathan Jones will be on the defensive line. At linebacker, Brown is expecting transfer Trenton Bray to make a big impact. He will be joined by Lowry Moore, Wesly Hogue, Dalton Chamblee, Isaiah Gilbert and Dannon Jenkins.
At cornerback will be Samarion Jones, Jahoward Johnson while Aiden Patrick and Keyshawn Williams will also get playing time. At safety will be Colby Dooley and Dannon Jenkins while Nate Johnson and Fox Ferguson will also see some playing time.
“We return four to five starters on each side of the ball,” Brown said. “There are some familiar faces and them some young kids that need to get some game reps. We do have some guys who have some experience at linebacker. The front seven has the most experience returning.”
On special teams, Bray will be the long snapper while Colby Dilbert and Colt Reed are competing at punter. Dalton Chamblee will handle the kicking duties.
The Bobcats will compete in district play with Nanih Waiya, Noxapater, McAdams, Leake County and Ethel.
“It should be a really fun district,” Brown said. “We are all familiar with one another. I think it’s really wide open and should come down to the last week. I would say that Nanih Waiya is the favorite if you polled the coaches. Noxapater has a really big senior class but I think we are right there in the mix with everybody.”
2025 Sebastopol High School Schedule
Aug. 29 Puckett
Sept. 5 Lake
Sept. 12 at Pisgah
Sept. 19 at Clarkdale
Sept. 26 Pelahatchie
Oct. 3 at Noxapater
Oct. 10 at McAdams
Oct. 17 Nanih Waiya
Oct. 24 Leake County
Oct. 30 at Ethel
Sebastopol High School Roster
1 Samarion Jones QB/DB Jr.
2 Trenton Bray H/LB Sr.
3 Jahoward Johnson WR/DB So.
4 Keyshun Nicks H/DE Jr.
5 Dannon Jenkins RB/DB Sr.
6 Colby Dooley WR/DB Sr.
8 Michael Stewart TE/DE So.
9 Fox Ferguson WR/DB So.
10 Nate Johnson WR/DB So.
11 Dalton Chamblee TE/LB So.
12 Wesley Hogue QB/LB Fr.
14 Colt Reed WR/DB Jr.
15 Aydan Patrick WR/DB Jr.
19 Keyshawn Williams WR/DB Fr.
20 Lathan Jones RB/LB Sr.
21 Conner Cater WR/DB So.
22 Bryce Wooten WR/DB Jr.
24 Evan Hammons WR/DB Jr.
30 Jensen Lang H/DE Fr.
32 Kamron Young WR/LB Sr.
33 Isaiah Gilbert RB/LB Fr.
40 Walker Wolverton WR/DB Fr.
43 Preston Guy WR/LB Fr.
44 Julian Berry WR/DB Fr.
50 Isaiah Smith OL/DL Fr.
51 Lowry Moore OL/LB Jr.
54 Deric Madden OL/DL Fr.
56 Colt Shelley OL/DL Fr.
58 Malakai Johnson OL/DL Jr.
70 Boots Johnson OL/DL Fr.
75 Joel Smith OL/DL Sr.
77 Jakari Brown OL/DL Sr.
80 Keyon Nicks RB/LB Jr.
88 Colby Gilbert WR/DB Fr.
Head coach: Keith Brown
Last year: 8-4 (lost in second round of 2A playoffs to Charleston)
Assistant coaches: Trent Hanna, Jimmy Coley, Tyler Opdyke, Patrick Nutt, Craig Martin, Ralph Bellamy, Luke Winstead
Players to Watch: Trenton Bray, Sr., H/LB; Samarion Jones, Jr., QB/DB; Dannon Jenkins, Sr., RB/DB; Colby Cooley, WR/DB; Joel Smith, Sr., OL/DL.
District: Noxapater, McAdams, Nanih Waiya, and Leake County
Three Things to watch
The Bobcats must replace two-time Class 2A Mr. Football Adarius McDougle, who rushed for 2,062 yards last year and threw for another 793 yards, scoring a whopping 232 points. The next highest rusher had 388 yards.
With McDougle gone, expect the Bobcats to be more balanced on offense but also have some growing pains as Samarion Jones takes over at quarterback.
The Bobcats move back down to Class 1A after two years in 2A and graduating a large senior class. The Bobcats have just seven seniors and will be young in several spots this season.
