1975: Gas was 53 cents a gallon, milk was 79 cents for a half-gallon, Gerald Ford was president, the movie JAWS debuted in theaters, and yours truly wouldn’t be born for another 11 years. 1975 was also the last time Charleston football started a season 0-4. The Tigers started 0-6 that season, with the sixth loss coming to Huntsville 10-0. The very next night, Saturday Night Live debuted on October 11th, 1975. The young Tigers will try to avoid a repeat of 1975 on Friday against Clinton, who themselves will be trying to avoid going 0-3 for the first time since 2020.
Something’s gotta give. No, I’m not talking about the 2003 “chick flick” starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Somehow, one of these two historically successful football programs will get a win Friday night. Charleston (0-3) will travel to Clinton (0-2) for a battle to finally put a 1 in that “W” column.
Charleston and Clinton have played twice all-time, with both games resulting in Clinton victories. The first came in 1978 with an 8-7 Yellowjackets victory, and most recently in 2018, a 49-0 Clinton win in the first round of the 3A playoffs. Despite historically not playing often, both teams share a lot of similarities. Charleston and Clinton both finished 10-2 last season, both finished second in their respective conferences, and both lost close games in the second round of the playoffs.
Coincidentally, both programs also lost 20-plus seniors from their 2025 squads, and have both started 2026 with young teams trying to find their rhythm. Clinton comes in with losses to Forrest City and Lamar, while Charleston has lost three straight to 4A-4 schools Booneville, Pottsville, and Ozark. Clinton was a 4A-4 school in 2025, but has since moved to 4A-2 after Booneville moved up to 4A from 3A starting this season.
Charleston head coach Ricky May is ready to see his young Tigers team pull things together. “Hopefully this game will help us find our team identity,” said May. “We have struggled with that the past two weeks, and hopefully since we have got a couple guys back, we will begin to gel and play together for four quarters.”
Charleston is led by junior quarterback Lukas Burleson and junior running back Finn Schmalz. The leading receiver on the team is Matteo Gaona, who had a 45-yard touchdown reception against Ozark. In addition to Burleson taking snaps, Schmalz and Gaona have both taken direct snaps at the quarterback spot. All three players also play a majority of the snaps on defense.
Clinton will rely on a heavy run game from the Wing-T formation. “They are a Wing-T-based offense that won’t wow you with a whole lot of flash, but they are really disciplined and play sound,” said May.
The Yellowjackets will be led by senior running back and cornerback Harold McNabb, who is a smaller, but stout and physical runner. They will be led defensively by linebackers Hayden Jones and Keegan Rose.
One thing is for certain: there will be a lot of coaching experience on the sidelines Friday. Chris Dufresne is entering his 25th season as the head coach of Clinton. Under his guidance, the Yellowjackets have made the playoffs 19 times with five conference championships. They have made the playoffs each of the last 10 seasons. Charleston coach Ricky May is entering his 11th season as a head coach, with the last eight of those coming at Charleston. In that time, Coach May has made the playoffs each year, won the conference championship three times, and won the 2022 3A state championship (Charleston’s sixth overall).
When asked for any comments on Coach Dufresne and the Clinton program, Coach May gave the long-tenured coach praise. “Coach Dufresne has built a consistent, tough program that plays hard every night. He’s been there a long time and developed a lot of men into winners beyond football. Great man and coach.”
Charleston will make the 120-mile trip on Friday night with kickoff at 7 p.m. at Yellowjacket Stadium in Clinton.
All photo credits to Ronni Tate Young.
