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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Vincent Yellow Jackets are ready to put last year’s struggles behind them and once again prove their worth as one of the top teams in Class 2A.

Coach Lucas Weatherford has raised the bar of success for the program year after year, taking the Jackets from a team which rarely had winning seasons to that being the expectation and standard year-in and year-out.

As a result, many opponents and outside observers alike consider Vincent as one of the best and most consistent programs in Class 2A, especially after a special 10-2 season in 2022 that was a watershed moment for the Jackets program.

That brought high expectations for last season, but a challenging campaign put the brakes on the Jackets’ rise through the 2A ranks.

While Vincent did reach the playoffs, a 6-5 record wasn’t what anyone expected. Now, with a fully healthy team and another year of experience under their belts, the Jackets are on a quest to regain that momentum.

While a pair of big losses in the graduating Rykelus Robertson and Ray Albright could have set this team back, Vincent will reload on both offense and defense with Jayden Roberts stepping up as the lead running back and All-State linebacker Grayson Gulde will now lead the defense.

On offense, the Jackets should continue to be as dynamic as ever with Casen Fields now more comfortable in his role at quarterback and surrounded by athletic and experienced weapons like Phoenix Maxwell, Aiden Poe and Deontaye Robertson.

Vincent also returns its entire secondary from last season with Fields, Deontaye Robertson, Maxwell and Poe set to lead the unit. Paired with defensive leaders on the line like Ethan McElrath and at linebacker like Gulde, and this is another solid unit despite losing key starters.

The Jackets will need that experience as they embark on a new region that will take them further around the state than ever before and also face some of the stiffest challenges they have taken on yet.

Gone are the days of challenging B.B. Comer for the Class 2A, Region 4 title, and instead, they’ll have five new opponents in Class 2A, Region 5 to face in Aliceville, Greene County, Lamar County, Sulligent and Tuscaloosa Academy, with only Isabella joining them in the move to Region 5.

Of the seven teams in the region, three are ranked in the Class 2A preseason top 10: Tuscaloosa Academy at No. 4 and Sulligent at No. 10. As for that third team, that’s Vincent, sitting at No. 8, and Weatherford and the team know that other teams will consider them one of those tough tests.

The Jackets will lean on that experience and skill as well as the strong and steady culture that Weatherford has instilled in them to overcome the challenges ahead and make their return to November football.

 

Prediction: 7-3. Make no mistake: this could be one of the best teams that Vincent has fielded in quite some time, even compared to 2022’s 10-2 team.

With talented and experienced players back at every position group and very few starting spots still up in the air, the Jackets have a right to feel confident going into this season as they are back healthy and have the right players to fill gaps left by graduating All-County players.

However, four of their six new region neighbors finished with a winning record in 2023, including 9-3 campaigns from Sulligent and Isabella and a 10-3 season capped by a quarterfinals berth from Tuscaloosa Academy.

Add in a non-region schedule with 2A semifinalist B.B. Comer and 5A Montevallo, and this is a difficult slate no matter how you slice it. This Jackets team could enter the playoffs in third place with six or seven wins and still reach the second or third round with their level of talent.

However, I firmly believe that this Vincent team can rise to those challenges and make a return to the playoffs, potentially even outperforming my expectations for them.