Long before the lights come on for opening night, championships and playoff runs are often built during the hot summer months.
That process is already well underway for Clinton High School football as first-year head coach Jason Arnette and his staff continue putting the Dark Horses through summer workouts, camps and 7-on-7 competitions in preparation for the upcoming season.
Through the opening weeks of the summer, Arnette has been encouraged by the turnout, effort and energy displayed throughout the program.
“We’ve had good turnouts,” the Dark Horse coach said. “We started summer workouts last Monday. We go four days a week, and we’ve probably had 70-plus total. The turnout’s been good and the energy’s been good.”
The new Clinton coach has wasted little time establishing a routine for his players. Mornings begin in the weight room before transitioning onto the practice field, giving athletes opportunities to improve both physically and mentally.
“We lift for about an hour and a half in the mornings, and then we go out and practice for about an hour and a half after that,” Arnette explained. “That’s JV and varsity combined.”
While summer temperatures have already begun making their presence felt across eastern North Carolina, Clinton has adjusted its schedule accordingly by working during the morning hours.
The strategy has allowed the Dark Horses to maximize their time on the field while minimizing exposure to the worst of the afternoon heat.
The work has not been limited to Clinton’s campus.
Throughout June, the Dark Horses have participated in camps and 7-on-7 competitions, including stops at Grays Creek and N.C. State. The events have provided valuable opportunities for players to compete against outside opponents while coaches evaluate personnel and continue implementing their systems.
According to Arnette, the results have been promising.
“Yesterday at Grays Creek was really, really good,” he noted. “I didn’t really keep up with the score, but we scored plenty and got a lot of reps for some guys, older and younger, and competed.”
The veteran coach believes those repetitions are invaluable this time of year, particularly for younger players who are still adjusting to varsity-level competition.
“We’ve got older guys and younger guys all working together,” Arnette said. “The more reps they get now, the more comfortable they’re going to be when we get into August.”
One of the most closely watched developments throughout the summer has been the battle for the starting quarterback position.
With the job still up for grabs, neither Elijah Bryan nor Nasir Brewington has separated himself from the competition.
In fact, Arnette joked that the race remains so close that he resorted to a game of chance when deciding who would receive first-team repetitions during a recent camp.
“It’s 50-50 at quarterback,” Arnette said. “Matter of fact, I rock-paper-scissored to see who was going to get first-team reps at Grays Creek yesterday.”
Both signal callers have shown flashes throughout summer workouts and camp competition, making the coaching staff’s decision even more difficult.
“I thought we had two young quarterbacks and both of them had some real good moments,” Arnette said.
At this stage of the summer, the competition remains healthy and unresolved.
Arnette has made it clear that the starting position will be earned rather than awarded, and he is not ruling out the possibility of utilizing both players if the battle remains close entering the season.
“If nobody really separates, it may be both of them,” he said.
While the quarterback competition has attracted attention, the Dark Horses are also adjusting to changes on the defensive side of the football.
Under Arnette’s leadership, Clinton is implementing new defensive concepts while maintaining offensive principles that are more familiar to returning players.
The emphasis, he said, is on simplicity and speed.
“We’re putting some new schemes in on defense compared to what they’re used to,” Arnette explained. “Offensively it’ll mainly be spread stuff they’re a little more familiar with. I try to keep my defense kind of simple, playing hard and not having to think a whole lot.”
So far, players have responded well to the transition.
“They’re picking it up pretty good,” the coach pointed out. “So far, so good.”
The importance of those adjustments will become evident once the regular season arrives.
Clinton opens the 2026 season Aug. 21 against county rival Lakewood before facing East Bladen and Whiteville in a challenging non-conference stretch. The schedule provides little opportunity for easing into the season, as all three opponents are programs capable of testing a young team early.
Following the non-conference slate, the Dark Horses will begin East Central 2-A Conference play with matchups against Pender, South Lenoir, East Duplin and Heide Trask during the first half of league competition.
For Arnette, the difficult schedule only increases the importance of summer preparation.
Every rep in the weight room, every practice session and every camp competition serves as another opportunity for players to improve before the games begin counting in the standings.
Just as encouraging as the on-field progress has been the overall participation within the program.
Arnette hopes Clinton can approach 80 players before the official start of the season, a number that would provide valuable depth across both the varsity and junior varsity levels.
For his first year at the head coaching helm of Clinton, that level of commitment speaks volumes about the players’ willingness to embrace the direction of the program.
“We’re trying to keep it going,” he said.
There is still plenty of work to be done before the Dark Horses take the field against Lakewood on opening night. Position battles remain ongoing, new defensive concepts are still being installed and the summer camp schedule continues.
However, through the first few weeks of offseason work, Clinton has established a solid foundation.
The turnout has been strong. The competition has been healthy. The energy has been high.
Now, the focus shifts toward carrying that momentum into August as Arnette and the Dark Horses continue preparing for the challenges that await this fall.