It was Dejavu watching the Saints and the Falcons yesterday. Here is why. I was in the 95 KSJ studio yesterday preparing for our week of shows ahead, while also keeping up with the Saints' game on TV. That's when I hear the FOX announcer say, "Stop on the play by Saints' rookie Taylor Stallworth."
I'm thinking, wait a minute, I KNOW that name. In fact, I had met Taylor several times in advance of our UTV 44 high school football games. Several years ago he was a big and talented defensive lineman for the Murphy Panthers. Moments later the announcer says, "And the Falcons hand it to rookie Ito Smith." Now you can't forget someone who goes by the name "Ito." Especially an Ito who was an outstanding running back for McGill-Toolen.
So here they were again. It was five years removed from the last time these two competed in the "Battle of the Cannon." Taylor played at South Carolina and Ito starred at Southern Miss. You can view some of his career highlights for Southern in the video below.
These two are going head to head in the National Football League. At first it may seem so unlikely, but when it comes to the football in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, not really. There's A.J. McCarron (St Pauls), Mark Barron (St Pauls), Julio Jones(Foley), Jimmy Ward (Davidson), Jaquiski Tart (Davidson), Rodney Hudson (B.C. Rain) and several others. Later yesterday I saw D.J. Fluker (Foley) throw a big block to help Seattle score a touchdown and Darius Philon (Vigor) make a tackle for a loss for the Los Angeles Chargers. When you watch the NFL, look for those Mobile area connections. They are everywhere.