A New Era In Blue Devil Football

By Editor | August 16, 2023 |

The Blue Devil coaches mean business as they stare into 2023 season.
The coaches are (from left) A.J. Bratton, Rusty Smith, head coach Clint Faust, Richard Russo and Bryant Mix.

WATER VALLEY – A new era in Blue Devil history gets underway Friday night with the season-opening scrimmage against East Webster. This season marks the first since 2008 with a new coach at the helm, and includes two new assistant coaches and a new schedule after Water Valley High School was reclassified from 3A to the smaller 2A division.

Clint Faust was tapped to be the head coach following one of the most successful chapters in school history that spanned 15 years under former head coach Brad Embry. Faust’s Blue Devil roots also run deep in this chapter, starting in 2004 when he landed a teaching job at the high school. With all of the coaching slots filled that first year, he signed on as a volunteer coach under Embry’s predecessor, Coach Trent Hammond.

“I wanted to be here, I was willing to put in those free hours as a volunteer that first year washing clothes, working on film, cutting grass and even painting,” the Saltillo native shared about his start as a Blue Devil coach.

Faust would spend a dozen years coaching at Water Valley High School with Embry before taking a coaching job at Itawamba High School and then serving as head coach at Bruce High School for three years.

“I tell kids all the time, this opportunity was 19 years in the making. I just put my head down and worked,” Faust added about the opportunity.

Faust also shared that the difficult decision to leave the school was ultimately made to help advance his career.

“If people leave a good place, it is usually to advance their career. I knew that. If I wanted to be a head coach here, I probably needed to be a head coach somewhere else first.”

Faust returned to the Water Valley School District in 2020, again as an assistant coach, fully aware that Embry was contemplating retirement in the not-so-distant future.

Although Faust is the new head man, the charged gridiron atmosphere in the Valley comes with one of the strongest line-ups of seasoned coaches in school history. Bryant Mix, a 23-year veteran coach at Water Valley High School, remains in the mix.

Mix has the deepest Blue Devil roots, playing on the 1990 state championship team and helping coach the 2018 championship team. The time between included playing collegiate football at Alcorn State University and a standout professional career with the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“When Mix walks in the locker room, he commands that room. The kids listen to him and he will sit in the locker room and listen to them. He will find out what they have been doing during that week, or over the summer. All of us try to build those relationships with the kids,” Faust shared about his defensive line coach.

“I want to see Coach Mix in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Everywhere I go, I hear a Bryant Mix story from when he played in high school. It may be from an opposing coach or a referee, but it is crazy so many people recall his impact on the field. I have seen video, he was the real deal,” Faust added.

Coach Richard Russo returns to the coaching lineup as defensive coordinator. Russo served in this position at Water Valley High School from 2008 until 2012, before accepting a head coaching job at Independence High School in 2013. Russo also served as head coach at Tishomingo County and Potts Camp before returning to Water Valley.

Russo is known for his boundless energy and his “Wrecking Crew,” the defensive squad that wreaks havoc on opponents.

“I think he may have more sweat on him than the kids when we get through with practice,” Faust noted about Russo’s energy. “He runs a very good scheme, he is going to help us out a lot and keep us in the ballgame. We are going to be basing out of a 4-3, but Russo does a lot of things in the secondary that is going to give our opponents problems.”

Another exciting addition is seasoned coach Rusty Smith, who served three years as head coach at J.Z. George High School most recently. Smith also has 10 years of coaching experience at Charleston High School, including as special teams coordinator and strength coach. He will serve as offensive coordinator for the Blue Devils.

“Rusty is a hard worker, he is going to adjust plays and play-calling to our kids,” Faust explained. “It takes a lot off my plate to have experienced men in there.”

The youngest of the coaching crew, A.J. Bratton returns for his second season as a Blue Devil assistant coach.

“He will be head coach material,” Faust added about the final coach in his lineup that also includes two volunteers – Bradley Tedford and Brandon Thompson.

A Look At The Season

Faust is quick to note that hard-hitting football remains the expectation.

“This is Water Valley, we are still going to be a hard-nosed football team. But we are going to have some different formations and things like that,” Faust shared. “I think we are going to have multiple formations based off the run, and take calculated shots. Tyler Richardson, a junior, is our quarterback and he has a Howitzer for an arm. We are working on his decision-making, that will grow with time on the field. I also think he is going to be good in the running game, he is 220 pounds,” Faust added about his junior signal caller. “I would hate to know I have to go tackle him if I was in the secondary.”
Faust is also pumped about a strong line.

“I think where we are going to be strong this year, even the next two years, is up front. We don’t have a lot of them, but we have some guys coming back up front that are stout on both sides of the ball,” Faust added.

One challenge is that even with a heavily-laden junior and senior roster this year, a lot of these players haven’t seen a lot of playing time in prior seasons.

“We have graduated so many the past two years, these kids coming up now may be junior and seniors, but they haven’t played a lot of ball on Friday nights. But this is their time and these kids are chomping at the bits to show that,”Faust explained.

Faust pointed to several anticipated playmakers starting Jaden Morgan.
“He is a good running back and very smart on how he sets up his blocks. If he will let the big boys work for a minute, they are going to open up some holes for him,” Faust added.

The list of expected playmakers also includes Zay Bradford, who is expected to see plenty of action running the ball; Dylan Moore will be a strong slot receiver; Taylon Johnson is a receiver who will also see playing time as a defensive back; Ty Pritchard, another receiver, has been waiting his turn to get on the field and show what he can do; Will Embry will play h-back and linebacker; Gabe Butler, who joined the team late in the season, will be the field goal kicker; and there are plenty of others waiting to hear their name called on Friday night.

A Look At Division 2-2A And What to Expect

As Faust ticked off the players who could see playing times on both sides of the ball, he noted that the reclassification to 2A will help level the playing field.

“When we were in 3A, we were a really small 3A school. Now we are going to play other teams who also have more players going both ways,” Faust noted.

The Division 2-2A teams is composed of four teams – Water Valley, Calhoun City, M.S. Palmer High School and Bruce – with Water Valley and Calhoun City the likely top contenders for the division title.

And The Excitement

Faust said that there are plans to shake it up a little in games from time to time.

“We will take some more shots down field,” the coach said. “And I wouldn’t say necessarily trick plays, but we are going to have something in the bag that is a little different for every game just so our opponents have to practice for it,” Faust said. “We are probably going to practice swinging gate. Whether we use the swinging gate, we’ll see, but they will have to practice on how to line up for it. If they don’t (line up to it), we are going to run it. If they line up right, we are just going to switch back to regular field goal formation and kick a field goal.”

Final Thoughts With Faust

Favorite Blue Devil game:

A game during the 2012 season when the Blue Devils beat Bruce at home on a field goal by Alex Robles. The ball hit the cross bar and bounced over, giving the Blue Devils the victory with little time to spare.

Thoughts about the Blue Devil football program:

“I have big shoes to fill. Coach Embry was not only a good coach, but he is a good guy. He has given back a lot to this school, this community and these kids. I can still remember walking in the office and seeing Coach Embry reading with a kid to help him pass a reading test. He is just that kind of guy, and I just hope I can carry that on. I will do it my way, everybody is not the same. I want to be remembered in that way as well. Hopefully somebody who helped improve their school, the community and the guys on the team.”

Thoughts about the importance of hard work:
“I am an old offensive lineman, we are not the prettiest looking ones out there or the best athletes on the field. But we are going to work as hard, if not harder.”

Duties in the classroom:

Faust has a master’s degree in math education and a specialist in administration. He teaches high-level mathematics at Water Valley High School.

“Not many of us football coaches do that, I teach Algebra II and Algebra III, and I love it. I think sooner or later this game is going to pass us all up and we better have a back-up plan. I have always valued an education and try to get these kids to do the same.”

Does being a math guru help with x’s and o’s on the football field?
“I think it helps me with statistics and analytics. I am big on analytics, especially when I went to the dark side (defensive) of the ball for a few years. I did defense for a few years, before I had always primarily done offense.

What is most exciting about the upcoming season?

“I enjoy watching these kids on Friday night. The lights pop on and the band starts playing – the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I get to kind of play the game through them and I enjoy it, because I definitely can’t play it any more!”

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