I had asked Enterprise head football coach Trey Woodard where to find his team last week, when planning to visit their retreat at Percy Quin State Park in Pike County.

He told me to take a left when the road splits and keep following it all the way around the lake.

That’s what I did, although I began to second guess myself once I passed the boat ramp and RV park and bridge that goes over the spillway without seeing any signs of the Yellow Jackets.

I eventually knew I was in the right place when I spotted a set of ancient goal posts, sitting in a clearing.

Enterprise had come to Percy Quin to bond as a team and to also get in a couple more workouts before school started the following week.

Pulling into an area with its own cabins, pool, dock, and cafeteria all situated just down from the football field, I couldn’t help but be struck with how cool the whole setup was.

“This has been awesome, better than I’d even imagined,” was the first thing Woodard said when asked about how things were going.

Enterprise is headed back up to the 2A ranks after the latest round of MHSAA reclassification. They’ll be in Region 7-2A along with Amite County, Loyd Star, Wesson, and Wilkinson County.

As they move up, the program moved out a 15-man senior class that graduated earlier this year. It’s not often that you see a school the size of EAC have a senior class of football players so large.

They just weren’t some dudes on the roster either, as most were key pieces of the offensive line or offensive backfield and many played both ways.

The Yellow Jackets reaped the rewards of that experience as they went 3-0 against their Lincoln County rivals from Bogue Chitto, Loyd Star, and West Lincoln in 2024.

For a program that once lost 39 games in a row, finishing 6-5 and making the 1A playoffs are accomplishments that should be celebrated and remembered.

However, that was last year and when Woodard thought about the needs of this year, he came up with this trip to Percy Quin.

The Jackets left their campus on a Monday after a morning workout. They arrived at their cabins and had time to fish and swim and then followed that same pattern on Tuesday, before heading back home on Wednesday following another workout.

The older players bunked with young players and a fish or two was caught down at the waterline.

I arrived just in time for supper on Tuesday. The team ate hamburgers and hot dogs and when the ok was given by Woodard, they nearly all went back for seconds.

One young lineman put away two burgers and a hot dog and I began to wonder how wise that was, with an evening workout coming up within the hour in the oppressive July heat.

As the meal finished up and players got ready to jump on the bus for a short drive down to the field, they worked quickly and together to clean up the remains of supper. Some took out the trash and others put condiments away in the fridge.

One of the coolest aspects of the week was the team dads that had taken time off from their jobs to spend it with the Jackets.

They were extra hands to help out with anything Woodard needed. They were also used as wise counsel, speaking to the team about how fleeting high school football is during the mealtime I observed

Team dad Chip Brister reminded the seniors that they might have but just 10 games of high school football left and double that for the juniors.

All the team dads there chimed in with similar words.

Adam Raiford, father of senior receiver AJ Raiford, lost his senior season of football at EAC with an injury.

Raiford mentioned how during his high school career, he experienced just one win on the field as a Yellow Jacket.

And if given the chance, he’d do whatever he could to live it all over again.

Brister spoke about overcoming adversity in his life due to an accident that ended with part of his leg being amputated.

He mentioned that some of the first people to walk in his hospital room to visit were football teammates from his high school days.

The deeper connections that come from sports.

The brotherhood.

That’s what Woodard was looking to create when he booked this trip.

It all had a very “Remember the Titans” feel to it, but only the good parts. Like the fictional Titans in the film, the players were tasked with learning things about their teammates.

They played football in the pool and Uno in the cafeteria and were quizzed by Woodard throughout the trip on things they knew about football and their teammates.

With the dads watching on their tailgates and the woods buzzing with the sound of insects getting active as dusk neared, the team went through a typical workout between the goal posts in the clearing.

AJ Raiford along with fellow senior leaders Jonathan McNickles and Ray’Javion Haygood got their teammates together to stretch.

Those three are a solid group of leaders and they all three talked about how important those responsibilities would be in 2025.

“I know I’ve got to be more vocal this year,” said Haygood. “I’ve always been more of a lead by example person.”

McNickles looks to be in the best shape of his career. He’s a wily tight end, who gets things done with clever footwork and a deep knowledge of the game.

“I’ve been eating a lot of protein, mostly eggs,” said McNickles. “Just trying to be my best for the team and my final year.”

Raiford offered similar praise of the camp experience as his head coach.

“This has been great,” he said. “It’s more than just going to workouts and going home. It’s been a chance for us to get closer as a team.”

No one knows how the 2025 season will shake out for Yellow Jackets. I am however, almost positive that when this group looks back at their high school football career, they’ll long be talking about the three days and two nights they spent beside a beautiful lake in south Pike County.