Geoff Mott
Sports Scene
ITHACA – On a much smaller scale, the football-playing Smith family from Ithaca High School can draw comparisons to the NFL royal family of Manning.
Father Archie Manning played NFL football. Ithaca High School football players Travis and Jacob Smith’s mother Aubrey comes from a family that produced five all-state athletes at Meridian High School.
Both families have three sons that include two quarterbacks and, at the moment, one receiver.
While Cooper Manning didn’t make it to the pro level, brothers Peyton and Eli Manning have a combined three Super Bowl titles at quarterback.
Travis Smith is in his senior season at quarterback, and after getting brought up to varsity as a freshman, he helped Ithaca win three straight state championships. Sophomore Jacob Smith is one of Travis Smith’s top targets this season, while sixth grader and appropriately named Peyton Smith could be the best quarterback of the group.
“He probably better than either of us,” boasts the 6’2″, 205-pound Travis Smith, who has committed to play football at University of Toledo next fall. “He works out all the time, and he’ll be a hard worker up here someday.”
Travis Smith is 41-0 as a starter for the Yellowjackets. Going into the Division 6 state semifinal game against Montrose, Ithaca was on a 54-game winning streak. As a sophomore, he completed 159 of 234 passes for 1,999 yards and 19 touchdowns and only threw two interceptions. He also ran for 879 yards and 18 touchdowns on 116 carries.
Last season, Travis connected on 108 of 174 passes for 1,651 yards and 28 touchdowns with five interceptions. He ran the ball 90 times for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Heading into the Montrose game, the 18-year-old had completed 154 of 211 passes for 2,773 yards and 35 touchdowns with six interceptions this season. On the ground he has 475 yards and nine touchdowns on 59 carries.
Jacob Smith caught 26 of his older brother’s passes this year for 441 yards and five touchdowns. He also has 241 rushing yards and four touchdowns and has completed 14 of 18 passes for 180 yards as backup quarterback.
“The season has gone great, and with this being his senior year, I’m giving it my all,” Jacob said. “I love playing with him. He’s always focused on game day, and that’s what helps him perform well.
“I didn’t get the chance to play with him on the field until this year, but we have worked out together in the backyard. We’ve got great chemistry out there and the timing to make things happen.”
The two brothers have a tight bond. “It’s definitely cool to be able to play with my little brother this year,” Travis said. “We’ve played basketball together but not football, so this is special.
“We’re really close. We have a little rivalry in 1-on-1 basketball.”
While the brothers enjoy the bond on the field, father Brett Smith watches anxiously from the stands.
“It’s pretty exciting, but I’m not sure how to explain how I feel watching it,” said Brett Smith, a 1989 graduate of Ithaca. “You want Travis to throw Jacob the ball all the time, but it doesn’t matter who he hits. I’m pretty nervous during the game.”
The worst feeling was during last year’s third state title game when Travis went down with a shoulder injury at Ford Field. Logan Hessbrook came in relief to lead the Yellowjackets to a 37-27 win over Constantine.
“It was a terrible feeling for a parent to go through,” Brett Smith said. “I went down to the sidelines to try and lift his spirit. But he stayed close to Logan and kept focused on helping him.”
Travis Smith believes he set a good example for his brothers to follow as field general at quarterback for the Ithaca program.
“I definitely think [Jacob] is ready for it, and I’m pretty proud to hand it over to him,” Travis said. “Yeah, there will be pressure. But I had a lot of pressure filling in for [Central Michigan quarterback] Alex Niznak.”
Jacob knows he has to be ready for the fall of 2014. “I’ll be preparing all off-season,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure this team will be ready to go.”
Jacob Smith will graduate one year before Peyton Smith enters high school, so the Smith era will span 10 seasons at Ithaca. Will Peyton Smith outshine his older brothers, much like Eli Manning did with his two Super Bowl titles?
“As of right now, judging by their arms in sixth grade, Peyton has the most intangibles to be better in everything on the field,” Brett Smith said. “We’ll wait and see.”