LITTLE ROCK — Regardless of their record, it is hard for any member of the Clinton Yellowjackets football team to stay down when Rusty Flickinger is around.
The 6-0 1/2, 220-pound senior defensive end/offensive guard lifts the spirits of his team and coaching staff with his humor and general good nature.
Rusty began playing football in fifth grade, just two years after his family moved to Clinton from Clinton, Ill. Since that time, he has been a standout on the football team with his aggressive style on defense and his immovable stature on the offensive line.
"I guess I got into it [playing football] by watching the Yellowjackets play when I was young," Rusty said. "I figured that's what I wanted to do."
For Rusty, it is the intensity of the game that gets him fired up and ready to play each game. His abilities on the field have grabbed the attention of some schools in Indiana wanting him to return to the Midwest to play football.
"That's a long way to drive," Rusty said jokingly. "But if they want to pay for my school, I'll go up there."
Rusty hopes to use his football skills to earn a degree so hecan become a coach some day. He has spent the last few years practicing that very profession. Last year he helped coach the peewee team, and this year he helped coach the seventh-grade team, which included his younger brother, Dakota.
"I wanted to be harder on him than the others," Rusty said.
The two brothers play similar positions. Dakota plays tackle on both sides of the line, but the big discrepancy is in their size. Rusty's little brother outweighs him by about 80 pounds.
"He'll probably be having some stories being written about him in a few years," Rusty said. "He's a big boy."
Whether it is his brother, or the scores of other youngsters that he helps coach, Rusty always tries to give sage advice, but it mostly comes down to their attitudes on the field.
"Don't hesitate," Rusty said. "Just go."
That is the same attitude he takes on the field every time. That same attitude is what he believes will get the Yellowjackets into the playoffs this year, and possibly further.
With this being his senior year, the thought of not suiting up for Clinton anymore is beginning to resonate in his mind.
"Senior night was the worst," Rusty said. "I knew that was the last time I'd play on that field. It hit me pretty hard."
Rusty has plenty of other interests, but nothing that he would puton the same level as football.
"I play baseball, well, I wouldn't say I play baseball, more of riding the bench," Rusty said. "And I'm an underwear model, but everyone already knows that."
He was joking about that last statement, but one can see how he makes football fun, and how he develops a close relationship with his teammates and coaches.
One coach in particular, offensive line coach Gary Kling, taught Rusty life lessons with a football subtext. His defensive coach, Quinn Brock, has been another big influence on the player he has become.
"I wouldn't be the player I am now without these coaches," Rusty said. "I'm very high on them."
In addition to his coaches, it is his faith in God that gives him the strength to do what he does night in and night out for the Yellowjackets. But no matter how many accolades he receives, he always tries to divert the credit to someone else.
"I've got some pretty good help," Rusty said. "It's not just me."
He has a lot of help in the stands as well. Since he began playing football, his parents have missed just one of his games, which was more than five years ago.
All of the support that Rusty and his team receive from the residents of Clinton make him confident about how his final year in a Yellowjacket uniform will finish.
"I believe we will make the playoffs," Rusty said. "We've worked pretty hard since we were sophomores and been starting since we were juniors. We deserve to go to the playoffs."
River Valley Ozark, Pages 158 on 10/28/2007