By Randy Capps
As Stanley Williams enters the third season as head coach at his alma mater, he and Smithfield-Selma are coming off the back of consecutive 1-9 seasons.
The Spartans are slotted into the Greater Neuse River 7A Conference — a league that produced four of the last 16 teams left in last year’s 7A playoffs (Garner, Southeast Raleigh, Cleveland and Clayton).
It’s a rough neighborhood for Smithfield-Selma, and the Spartans have nine returning starters to try to help turn the recent tide.
Bryson Hinton (47 tackles, 5.5 sacks) is a three-year starter that should feature on both sides of the ball and American Leadership Academy transfer Elijah Fulton (127 tackles, six sacks) figures to join him in the trenches.
Two-way players might be the norm for SSS this season, as Noah Jeter (36 tackles, and James Bell (35 tackles) will both contribute on offense and in the secondary.
“These young men must be leaders on and off the field for us to be successful,” Williams said. “(Jeter is) our jack of all trades, and (Bell is) a vocal leader in the secondary.
Smithfield-Selma begins the 2026 slate with a pair of Johnston County rivalry games. The first is at South Johnston on Aug. 21.
The Spartans also, for the second year in a row, will have 10 straight games without a bye before having an open date on Oct. 30.
