Something is brewing on Trojan Trail.
The Lincoln High School football team feels it.
The Trojans are just days away from their season opener, when they face Gadsden County in a Week 0 Kickoff Classic game on Friday, Aug. 14.
“I think there’s something special here,” senior offensive tackle Daniel Clement told the Tallahassee Democrat.
“I know everybody says that, but I think the team chemistry is something unmatched. Everybody here grew up together as freshmen, which is different about this class. There’s something special off the field, not just on the field. I think there’s a lot of doubt, but I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
The Lincoln Trojans return in year two under head coach Matt Jackson.
They finished with a 6-5 record and beat Lawton-Chiles High School for the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 5A District 2 championship. Lincoln narrowly fell in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs to Mosley, 33-30, last November.
“The biggest thing is maximizing my time with the football team,” Jackson said, reflecting on lessons learned. “The first year, you’re pulled in so many different directions. Going into that second year, it’s kind of like ‘I can put that on the back burner for right now.’ Just prioritizing things. That’s all.”
Lincoln is rich in talent on its roster of 130-135 players.
Four-star junior cornerback Kahmaree Crumity is a highly rated recruit, holding nearly 50 scholarship offers from college football programs.
Clements and All-Big Bend receivers Trevor Jacobs, Jayden Jean, and Keyshawn Richardson, among many others, are projected to make big impacts. Now it’s about finding depth across the board, says Jackson.
“You’ve got to have three elements on your team ― leaders, playmakers, and a surprise,” the Lincoln coach explained. “Looking forward to finding one or two of those guys.”
Lincoln Trojans enter football season with new quarterback, same expectations
There will be a new person under center.
Tommy Hutchinson has been named the starting quarterback. The senior transferred from Tallahassee’s James S. Rickards High School, where he backed up All-Big Bend First Team quarterback Jordan Kelley.
Hutchinson has big shoes to fill, following up behind area first-team quarterback Taylor Jacobs Jr. He’s now a freshman at an NCAA Division I school, the University of South Alabama.
“Tommy, he’s a leader,” Jackson said of his quarterback. “Tommy’s the guy now. The standard’s the standard. We expect him to go out and execute our offense, protect the footback, and hopefully lead us to some touchdowns.”
Those standards extend beyond quarterback play.
Winning off the field and in the minor details are key to dominating on the gridiron.
That means keeping the locker room clean, pushing yourself in the weight room, and jogging on and off the football field at practices.
“He doesn’t play about those standards,” Clement said of Jackson’s no-nonsense coaching. “We don’t keep the same standard. We always raise it. We get to our goals and set new ones. We never set up.”
Lincoln Trojans football coach Matt Jackson measures success
Jackson wants his Lincoln Trojans team to be “physical” and avoid self-inflicted breakdowns.
That will leave the second-year coach at peace, regardless of the final record.
“The outcome will be the outcome,” Jackson said. “If we execute to the best of our ability, we can accept whatever that outcome may be. It’s just those times when you feel like you left plays on the field, you have those ‘Aw, shoot’ moments. But if we can go out and execute and play at a high level, I can accept any outcome that may come.”
The Lincoln Trojans and the Gadsden County Jaguars, under first-year head coach Daniel Fish, kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Kickoff Classic game will be played at Chiles High School in Tallahassee.
Lincoln Trojans 2026 football schedule
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lincoln Trojans football enters 2026 season with ‘something special’
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
