CLINTON — 5 a.m., game day. Barbara Smith couldn’t sleep.
How could she? There was too much to think about. Too much at stake. The culmination of nine years of two-a-days, injuries, road trips, sacrifice — in short, an era — might come to an end. And if it didn’t, if the Jackets could extend their magical season beyond the Ashdown Panthers, that would be even bigger.
The Clinton Yellow Jackets, for whom Barbara’s son Garrett started on both sides of the line, entered Friday night’s second-round playoff game with a near-perfect record. The team’s only loss came against rival Heber Springs in week 9, and that one was by one point.
Excitement on an insomnia level wasn’t limited to the Smith household. Starting at about 4 p.m., all but the essentials in Clinton shut down in anticipation of the big game. A clerk at Walmart (one of those essentials) didn’t even have to stop and think when asked if they had any more Yellow Jacket apparel.
“We are all sold out,” she said.
By the looks of the town, it would have been a surprise if any store had anything left in the colors black and yellow. U.S. 65 looked like it was hosting a combined family reunion of the University of Iowa and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
More than three hours before kickoff, dozens of people were already milling about Clinton’s stadium. A few boosters were hard at work decorating the field with balloons, painting a black-and-yellow path leading from the Yellow Jackets’ locker room to the playing field and hanging signs of support.
KATV was on hand, and high school students squeezed in together to say hi to their mommas on statewide television.
As game time approached, the atmosphere went from nervous anticipation to rock-the-walls excitement.
Malcom Cambron, whose son of the same name is a sophomore defensive tackle on the team, put the game in perspective.
“If we win tonight, we’ll make school history,” he said.
Apparently no team from Clinton has ever made it past the second round of the state playoffs.
That fact wasn’t lost on Clinton’s seniors, a group of which have been playing together since peewee football in the fourth grade. Their team motto this season has been “One team. One heartbeat.”
In his pregame speech, head coach Chris Dufrene didn’t mince words with his players.
“Ashdown’s line is probably faster than any team we’ve faced this year,” he said. “And we’ve faced speed. We played Lonoke. We played Heber. But we’ve got to be able to catch up to Ashdown’s speed tonight.”
As the Yellow Jackets exited the locker room, they were met with a familiar, but welcome, sight. About a third of the fans from the bleachers (which were packed) and the hillside next to the bleachers had made their way onto the playing field, forming a human tunnel for their boys. Many of the fans held black and yellow balloons, which they would release when the Yellow Jackets took the field.
A lone yellow balloon floated toward the heavens as the band played the national anthem. And in that moment, there was little to distinguish the band from the crowd from the team from the town. This was Clinton. One team. One school. One town. One heartbeat.
Once on the field, it was obvious which team had more athletic tools at its disposal; and it wasn’t the home team.
Ashdown’s speed didn’t just give Clinton fits; it nearly put the game out of reach in the second quarter alone when it rattled off 27 points in a 12-minute span.
But the Clinton faithful didn’t give up. When the Panthers missed an extra point midway through the second quarter, two Clinton fans standing along the fence separating the sideline from the bleachers started cheering hysterically. You’d have thought they had just watched the Miracle on Markham all over again. But the Jackets had a hard time stopping the Panthers’ attack and couldn’t get much going offensively themselves.
But heading into halftime down 27-6, the Yellow Jackets didn’t lose faith. They summoned that singular heartbeat and went on the attack in the second half, scoring quickly in the third quarter to cut the deficit to two touchdowns.
With their friends, neighbors and families providing as much moral support as they could muster, Clinton further cut into the lead with another score, making it 27-19.
Kelvin Smith, Garrett’s father, said the game was typical of the way this team, especially that core group of seniors, has played since before they were interested in girls.
“They started out when they were small,” Kelvin Smith said, “and they’re not very talented; they won a lot just on willpower.”
But willpower alone wasn’t enough on Friday night; 27-19 was as close to history as the Yellow Jackets would get.
This was a special season, and now the end of an era. But what won’t end is the identity Clinton finds in its Yellow Jackets. Amid plant closings, natural disasters and economic uncertainty in the past five years, the community’s support, not just for its football team but for the entire school, has never wavered.
And even if the Yellow Jackets don’t make another run at a state title next year, U.S. 65 is sure to be dotted with black and gold on Friday afternoons come football season.