By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

ST. MARTIN — The football team at St. Martin High has never won a state playoff game.

But, it’s not like the Yellow Jackets have had many opportunities to do so.

St. Martin has made just four postseason appearances in the 44 years since a state-wide playoff system was implemented. The last time the Yellow Jackets qualified for the state playoffs was 2018.

Now, with a new head coach in place, St. Martin is looking to change the narrative heading into a new season.

Woody Cagnolatti enters not only his first season as head coach at St. Martin High, but also his inaugural season as a head coach in South Mississippi on the prep level this season. Cagnolatti, a South Louisiana native, was elevated from the post of defensive coordinator to the top spot. He becomes the third straight Yellow Jacket mentor in the past 15 seasons hired with no prior experience as a head coach in the state of Mississippi after Eddie Wayne Whitehead and Ty Smith.

He replaces Smith, who left his position several months ago and eventually accepted the head coaching position at Ben Lomond High School in Ogden, Utah.

Smith went just 6-25 from 2022-2024, but St. Martin went 0-17 in Region 4-7A play during that span. Cagnolatti becomes the third head coach in five seasons for the Yellow Jackets.

“I’ve been working for coach Smith for the last three years, so I’m familiar with the program,” Cagnolatti said, in a recent interview. “I’m excited about the opportunity to get this job. There were a lot of head coaching jobs open this off season, but I really wasn’t interested in applying for any others. I wanted to be where I am.”

And perhaps for good reason. Cagnolatti gets eight starters back from last season on offense and six more on defense heading into his first season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets.

On offense, two of the top returnees are Kevin Marshall and Seth Crockett, each of whom saw a significant amount of time with the ball in their hands last year.

As just a sophomore last year, Marshall took the majority of snaps at quarterback and completed almost 60% of his passes for 758 yards and four touchdowns. He accounted for over 1,300 yards of total offense, however, as he also added 581 yards rushing and four more scores.

Meanwhile, Crockett ran for 555 yards as just a freshman running back last year and led the team with six touchdowns, including one scoring catch.

Defensively, the big dog Jayden Curtis is back up front. As a junior last year, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound recent University of Central Florida commit was a force out on the edge for the Yellow Jackets last year recording 52 total tackles, including 15 tackles for loss with six sacks.

Also, back on defense for SMHS is linebacker Aaden Jackson who registered 61 total tackles last year.

And, Exavier Wiggins returns to patrol the secondary after starting the past two years. He is also expected to see some time in the offensive backfield as well.

The Woody Cagnolatti era at SMHS opens on the road at Vancleave on Fri., Aug. 29th.