James Earl Little Jr. to get the start for East Side Trojans in opener
Cherokee Kimble -- The Sun Sentinel Sports Columnist
James Earl Little Sr. has coached the East Side Trojans since 1994 and heading into his eighteenth season, he'll be experiencing something for the first time. Little Sr. announced on Friday, during the AHSFS media day, that his son and senior quarterback James Earl Little Jr. will be the team's starting quarterback.
Little Jr. will have big shoes to fill, hoping to replace and replicate the success of Roger Burton, the two-year starter that went 24-4 as a starter, leading the Trojans to a district championship and making it to the semi-finals of the state championship before bowing out to Charleston, the eventual state champions who have beaten the Trojans in six consecutive games dating back to 2006.
The senior quarterback won't have to look far for motivation and guidance as Little Sr. was a star quarterback for the Trojans back in the late 70s, leading the Trojans to three straight conference championships. Little Sr. would go on to be part of a Southern Miss football team that beat Ole Miss in 1980, beat Mississippi State in 1981 and during Little Sr's senior season with the Golden Eagles in 1982, he would quarterback the team that snapped the Crimson Tide's 56-game home winning streak at Bryant–Denny Stadium.
Through three seasons, Little Jr. has yet to play varsity football for the Trojans. He started two games for the junior varsity team during his sophomore season before serving as Burton's backup for the past two seasons.
As the name suggests, this is the "archives" of my narrative RTG, By Valor and Arms. This thread will be your standard chise with articles and game recaps that correspond to the happening in the narrative story. This will likely be ahead of the narrative thread so if you want to avoid spoilers, just keep on following the narrative thread.
UAB likely the first of many scholarship offers for East Side quarterback James Earl Little Jr.
Cherokee Kimble -- The Sun Sentinel Sports Columnist
It only took East Side High School senior quarterback James Earl Little Jr. one start for him to break a school record for most passing yards in a single game. He broke both district and state records in his next two starts, throwing for a record 1,255 yards in his three starts.
"Some pretty good high school quarterbacks don't throw for that many yards in an entire season," said East Side offensive coordinator Carl Harrison, a former college quarterback that knows a thing or two about the position.
After not starting in his first three seasons, Little Jr. has hit the ground running since being named starter, leading the Trojans to an undefeated record midway through the season. He's also started to garner the attention of college coaches, receiving a scholarship from the University of Alabama - Birmingham and has received interest from a slew of other schools such as Southern Miss, where his father attended and played quarterback for the Golden Eagles.
