Melvin Jones and Desean Smith have been playing together and against each other since elementary school.
Friday night, Jones, a linebacker/quarterback at Washington-Marion, and Smith, a tight end at Barbe, will lock horns one more
time before moving on to reunite as teammates at LSU next year.
Jones announced his presence in a big way last year, leading W-M to a district title and its first playoff win in more than
a decade in his first ye
reach the quarterfinals in the playoffs.
The two are longtime friends.
“We played football and basketball together in middle school,” said Jones. “Desean can run, he can catch, he can do it all.
Off the field, he is cool, fun, a big kid, one of the most soft-hearted people.”
Smith said Jones is the complete package.
“Melvin is big, strong, fast, physical and not scared to hit you,” Smith said. “He is a great player and fun to play with
because you know he is always going to make the big play all the time.”
Jones said he is looking forward to producing a better showing than in last year’s matchup, when he had one carry for 2 yards
in Barbe’s 37-20 win.
“Last year I took a little tweak to my ankle and was not 100 percent,” he said. “Desean caught a nice touchdown pass and had
a good game. I was watching him thinking ‘I’m going to get you next year.’”
Smith joked that he isn’t worried.
“I think I can beat him on running routes, get past him. Coming over the middle, if I have to block, I have been playing with
him since we were 4. I know where to hit him.”
Jones helped change W-M’s season when
he became the starting quarterback midway through the season, rushing
for 1,008 yards
and 13 touchdowns in the regular season, then leading the Charging
Indians to a playoff win at Plaquemine. The team went 5-1
with Jones as the starting quarterback.
Jones earned all-state honors as a linebacker after recording six sacks and more than 100 tackles in his first season of varsity
action.
“It felt pretty good. I think I did pretty good stepping up, being a leader for the team last year and helping us win some
games,” Jones said.
Despite the big numbers on offense, including 253 yards rushing on 11 carries last week, Jones said his heart is on defense.
“I would prefer to play linebacker any day,” he said. “I like getting to the ball and making contact with somebody. I get
to the ball pretty good for my size. It was OK playing offense last year; I was taking a big role for the team.”
Smith said he is happy to be one of several stars on the Barbe offense.
“One of the biggest things to the team is our entire offense is great, it is not just a single player, it is everybody as
one,” he said.
“Trey Quinn is unbelievable. Having him on the team helps me get open, and having me on the team helps him get open. Kade
Demarie and Gunner Leger do a lot of work and should also be seen as great players.”
Both players said they enjoy being team leaders. Smith said he had a good mentor last year in Justin Woods, now a freshman
defensive lineman at Southern University.
“He is one of the reasons I work so
hard,” Smith said. “He would always call me to do some work in the
morning, something
extra. He showed me size doesn’t matter, it is how hard you work. I
enjoy being a leader, it is unbelievable. I am glad I
have the opportunity to be with this team. I am blessed to play
with the players we have and are looking forward to the season.
”
Jones said he is trying to talk to teammates more this season.
“This year I am working on being more of a vocal leader,” he said. “I want to get everybody on the same page so we can get
to where we are trying to go, to the state championship.”