Football | 7/25/2024 8:10:00 AM

The Clinton High School Football team's storied past gets its glory inside a freshly renovated locker room and coaching offices.

With a generous donation from the Tony Howard family, the Arrow Football legacy is immortalized for the current and future generations of Arrows who don the red, white, and black on Friday nights. Howard, the President of the Arrow Touchdown Club, sought to re-brand the Arrows' field house to celebrate the program's history.

"I wanted to find a way to connect the old school with the new school," Howard said about the project. "When Coach John Carr accepted the head-coaching position, I presented the idea to him, and it took off from there. We wanted to get pride back into the program. These wall murals are about instilling the tradition of Clinton football into the players and growing the pride and that Clinton mindset for the players."

Digital Imaging Group (DIG), LLC, was tasked with bringing Clinton's timeline to life. Planning the renovation with Carr, Howard sought out a mural that would rival schools in the southeastern region such as Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and other DIG projects on the collegiate levels, which gave the pair inspiration.

"Coach Carr and I knew each other from northeastern Louisiana and looked toward some high schools over there," Howard said. "We wanted to rebrand the field house to celebrate Clinton football's pride and traditon. Neville High School has a similar wall wrap, and we took inspiration from there."

The mural is full of memorable moments, stretching across the decades, splashing the field house walls with former players' and coaches' pictures. Danny C. Davis and Nash Nunnery compiled photos for the project. For Davis, Clinton's long-time public address announcer, his participation in the project was a special duty.

"(Clinton football) is such a storied past with so much success," Davis said. "The younger players and new community members are not as familiar with that history. The teams under James Sloan and David Bradberry did outstanding things along with many others. From the Little Dixie Conference championships to the 2000 Arrows who made the 5A state championship game, the history is worth celebrating. Similar to Tony Howard's remarks, this mural is connecting the old players with the new players and hopefully builds more enthusiasm around the program."

The mural currently highlights teams from the 50s through the 90s and has room for expansion to add more decades to the walls. The 2016 6A State-Champion Arrows are celebrated with an image of the team's state-championship ring and pictures of the championship game against Pearl High School from December 2nd, 2016. Clinton greats and NFL players Cam Akers and Grant Williams are displayed in the murals, as well. 

Other graphics include motivational characteristics and phrases for the players and coaches such as "energy", "finish", "attitude", and "toughness" spread throughout the locker room. 

Clinton celebrates the renovations with an exciting open-house event on Friday, August 2, starting at 5:15 p.m. on the campus of Clinton High School. The Arrow Touchdown Club is set to host a Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition open to participants in Kindergarten to Sixth Grade to take place on Arrow Field. In addition to the competition, former players and all Arrow supporters are invited for a brief event headlined by Phillip Gunn, former Mississippi Speaker of the House and Arrow quarterback, on Arrow Field before heading down the stairs to view the renovated field house. 

"I think August 2 is going to be a great event," Howard said. "We really look forward to getting the community out to connect more with the football program. Again, it is about getting the football alumni and supporters out to see this premium renovation."