JFK High School Set to Open Football Season Behind New Coach

It is the first practice of football season for the John F. Kennedy Cavaliers, and an ominous mist hangs over the practice field at 1901 Randolph Road. The dreary weather seems a fitting opening for the Cavaliers, who are a combined 4-26 over the past three seasons, including a 0-10 showing last season. And as the football team begins to exit the locker room, one begins to get a sense of the toll that losing can have on a program: the enthusiasm that characterizes the beginning of football for so many in these parts is sorely lacking here.

But then comes some optimism. First-year Head Coach Carlos Smith steps outside with a smile from ear-to-ear, the smile of a man who isn’t afraid of a little adversity.

“It is going to be a challenge,” says Smith. “We are trying to change the culture.”

Carlos Smith has been around football for several decades:  playing through college, trying out with the Cowboys, and settling into an assistant coaching gig from 2000-2005 at JFK before taking his most recent job as a Kennedy track-and-field coach -- a spring-season job he'll continue with once football season ends.

It is immediately obvious why he was Athletic Director Kenneth Cudd’s choice to replace Randolph Warren; Smith’s enthusiasm lights up the small, dark, cluttered office that doubles as a storage shed in the back recesses of JFK High.

“We hired him for many reasons.  Not only does he know the game, he has a connection with the students here.  He possesses a calm, determined manner when dealing with our students,” says Cudd.

Smith’s determination is evident as he notes the difficulties ahead.

“Look, there are a lot of kids who have a habit of not sticking with things here ... There are a lot of kids here who think they’re basketball players ... even the guys who have played before aren’t where they should be,” says Smith.

The Cavaliers will be quarterbacked this year by Sophomore Marvin Galdemez, and Smith says to expect big things out of Defensive Back Chris Gardener and Linebacker/Strong Safety Donovan Price.

They begin their season this Friday, at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland.