Bulldog Football Mourns Loss Of Snelgrove

The Marianna Bulldog football family has been in mourning this past week as former Bulldog player Jake Snelgrove was laid to rest on Tuesday. Snelgrove, who passed away last Friday, was a two year starter for the Bulldogs in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. But he was much more than just a football player to the program.

He served as a ball boy for the team as a youngster and eagerly awaited the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Jesse, who also played for the Bulldogs during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Jesse wore the #58 and was elected team captain during his senior season. Jake tasted success early in Bulldog football when he was a member of the junior varsity team that went unbeaten in 2002. To no one’s surprise he claimed and wore the #58 just like his older brother. And when he was a senior (2005 season), just like his older brother, Jake was elected team captain by his teammates. He played both ways, lining up as a guard on offense and an end on defense. While not quite as big as his older brother, Jake had some of those intangibles that coaches love. “He was kind of undersized for a lineman,” said John Donaldson, who coached the offensive and defensive lines when both Snelgroves played at Marianna. “But as a coach you wished that you had a 100 more kids just like Jake. He worked hard and did everything we asked of him,” added Donaldson. That seemed to be a recurring theme of others who coached him. Don Dowling, currently Head Football Coach at Sneads, was the Head Football Coach at Marianna for five years. “Jake was with me for four of those five years. He was easy to coach and did exactly what you told him to do. He loved Lynard Skynard and their song “Simple Man”. He used to tell me ‘Just keep it simple Coach and we’ll take care of it,” Dowling fondly recalled.

Those intangibles didn’t just start in high school according to Daryl Williams, who coached Snelgrove in city league youth football and baseball. “Jake was a blessing to coach. He was one of those kids that if the coach told him to jump off a four story building he would do it. He trusted what the coaches were telling him that much. His loss is a real tragedy,” said Williams.

Dowling said the loss of a young man is always difficult, but Jake’s loss has been especially tough on the players, families and coaches associated with those teams. “You know we lost Justin a little over two years ago and it is just really hard to take,” Dowling said referring to the loss of Snelgrove’s teammate, friend and former Bulldog Justin Burch in October of 2008. Dowling had known both since they were kids as both Snelgrove and Burch had been ball boys for Bulldog Football while Dowling served as an assistant coach.