Jackets look to win second state title
Yellowjacket booster voices team support, Alto coach praises fan support
BY LELAND ACKER

He's there for every snap of Alto Yellowjacket football, but when J.C. Dover suffered a heart attack last week, he missed the semi-final game against Granger. The state-semifinals marked only the third time Mr. Dover missed a Yellowjacket game since 1956.

"I enjoy backing the boys," Mr. Dover said, adding that he makes it to every Yellowjacket practice.

Mr. Dover missed a game in 1965 when his father died of a heart attack, then missed another when he contracted the flu in 1975.

Last week, doctors had cleared him to attend the semi-final game but Mr. Dover declined due to the climbing that is involved in attending a game at Bowers Stadium.

He said he plans to attend Saturday's state championship game against Seymour.

Mr. Dover enjoys breakfast with his grandson, Clint Dover, who plays offensive line and linebacker for the Mean Sting.

"I asked him, 'Here y'all have won 27 in a row, are you going to lose this next one?' He replied, 'There's no way we'll lose, poppy,'" Mr. Dover said.

Mr. Dover said he enjoys attending practices in addition to the games because it allows him to get to know the players.

"You end up knowing every boy individually and see his improvement week to week," Mr. Dover said. "It doesn't take too long to see the leaders emerge."

Mr. Dover said he has seen players grow up in Alto football.

"You see some fall by the wayside, but I haven't seen much of that lately," he said. "I really like Coach (Keith) Gardner. He really pushes them. Every player is important."

Mr. Dover said he attends practice to show support for the players.

"I know them one-on-one," he said.

Coach Gardner said the fan support in Alto really helps the football program.

"They're great," Coach Gardner said. "They enjoy football, support the team and get extremely excited. It's good for the team because it makes them want to perform well every Friday."

"We know what they are going to do in practice," Mr. Dover said. "They are going to pull tires, run sprints or do relays. They compete, we get excited, so they get excited. I'll put our conditioning up against any 5A school."

Standing between Alto, another state championship trophy and win number-28, is Seymour.

"Seymour is a good football team," Coach Gardner said. "They are well coached. They run the shotgun spread offense and alternate between a 5-0 and a 4-3 defense."

Coach Gardner said Seymour has a small size advantage, but Alto has a small advantage in quickness.

"It should be an extremely exciting ball game between two evenly matched teams," he said.

Alto and Seymour will play for the Class 1A Division 1 state championship at 3 p.m. Saturday in Midlothian.