A father-son duo and baseball heavy roster forge ‘constant bond’ for East Central football
New coach, same vibes, winning football.
That’s the feeling at East Central after racing out to a 2-0 start with wins over 6A Biloxi and reigning Region 8-4A champion Moss Point.
The team is now led by Sam Huff, who has been with the program for 15 years. Huff has seen the low points, such as the team cratering at 1-10 in 2013, and the high marks: playing for a state title just four years later.
Huff knows what it takes to win in Hurley and the Hornets have made eight consecutive playoff trips. He believes his staff has this year’s team trending toward a ninth.
“I definitely feel like we’re going in the right direction,” Huff told the Sun Herald. “This coaching staff that we have here is phenomenal. They’re all veterans who have been around some good football, whether it’s here or other places. With this staff, we’re all on the same page... You can’t help but feel good that it is going in the right direction.”
Family matters on the football field
This is a special year for Huff, and not just because it is his first at the helm of the program. His son, Jared, is a senior star middle linebacker on the team and one of the most productive players on the roster.
The younger Huff has 149 career tackles, led the team with 95 stops last year and is leading the way in 2022 with 16 tackles through two games.
“It’s what you look for from the beginning, the opportunity to be on the same team,” Sam Huff said. “It’s hard to describe, it’s special.”
Jared said it’s created a greater sense of connectivity throughout the team.
“It’s awesome, it’s like a constant bond,” Jared said. “It feels like everybody on the team, I’ve been playing with them my whole life and my dad has known them. It’s just a different feeling than the coaching before.”
Sam has been around this particular group for longer than just their varsity football careers and the connection goes all the way back to their little league baseball years.
“It’s special to me because this whole group is my son’s senior group and I’ve watched them play little league ball, baseball and football, since they were four-years-old,” Sam said. “Watching them grow and play together, whether it’s on the diamond or on the striped field, it’s been pretty special.”
Baseball boost
East Central football has long been boosted by the play of the athletes that star on the highly successful baseball team.
That was the case in 2021 and the multi-sport athletes are again proving their worth this year. Southern Miss baseball commit TJ Dunsford has starred alongside Jared on the defensive side of the ball and has logged 155 career tackles to date.
Dunsford is at 14 tackles and two stops for loss this season and is one of several baseball players helping out on the gridiron.
“They’re definitely special, they got talent and that’s why they’re playing baseball,” Jared said. “They got the athleticism. It fills in what we need. They’re just good at what they do.”
Among the many two-sport athletes on the roster, key offensive starters Andrew Marble and Eli Smith play significant roles.
Winning on the ground
Marble, like Dunsford an All-South Mississippi baseball selection, is the starting quarterback this year. In the Hornets’ traditional scheme, his job is simple. Marble either hands the ball off to one of several running backs or keeps it himself and uses his legs.
Marble does bring a unique skillset to his position, however, and it helps add a bit of strength to the ECHS ground attack.
“The young man we have playing (quarterback) is an actually an all-state pitcher, so he’s one of the most athletic kids on our football team,” Sam said. “He actually played, and this going to be funny to you, he played guard his seventh, eighth and ninth grade years. That’s basically what we’re asking him to do, which is say ‘down, set, hut’ and be a great blocker. Which he is.”
One of his backfield mates is Smith, who picked up 30 hits in the Hornets’ championship-winning baseball campaign this past spring.
He’s also up to 240 rushing yards and three scores this fall. East Central has found plenty of success running the ball early in this season and that’s despite missing multiple offensive lineman due to injuries.
Sam hopes to keep the momentum going as the team inches closer to district play. East Central is set to travel to South Pike on Friday and face a team coming off a loss to Harrison Central.
