DAPHNE, Alabama — Two-sport varsity athletes Jacob Olmsted and Brandon Roberts narrowed their future playing dates to Saturdays this fall as each chose the gridiron over the pitch in a signing ceremony last week.

The senior football and soccer standouts for the Trojans signed football scholarships at Trojan Hall on the DHS campus.

Daphne head coach Glenn Vickery said both players were outstanding young men as well as outstanding athletes and their success represented the coming together of the teachers, administrators, parents and coaches at Daphne as well as the community which supports the entire school and all it's programs, including athletes.

“All the kids who take part in extra curriculars and keep their grades up are the result of a total community effort,” he said. “A team effort to give them the best education and the best high school experience possible. But that takes sacrifice on the part of a lot of

people, not just them. But for two sport athletes like Jake and Brandon, just imagine, their extra time out of class is just about taken up year round practicing and working out. It takes dedication to do that and we're just so proud of them for all they have accomplished.”

Roberts, a multi-purpose place kicker and punter accepted an offer from the “Fighting Okra,” a.k.a, The Statesmen of Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. Where he plans to study sports medicine or coaching.

"I am really excited," he said. "It means a lot because now I'm kind of close to home where my parents are, in Mississippi. So I’ll be close to home and my whole family can come and watch every time I go to play.”

But DSU also had something Roberts has become use to in both football and soccer at DHS— a championship and a winning record.

“They finished No. 4 in the nation last year in Division II, losing to Pittsburgh State. They are a really top-notch program and have been Gulf South champions for quite a while. And I'm really excited to be with a national championship contender."

In his senior year, Roberts led the county in both field goals and punts for average. He made 5-of-9 three-pointers (His longest was from 40-yards out) and averaged 41.3-yards per punt.

"Brandon was a kicker who never got rattled, never got scared and sort of had ice in his veins," Vickery said. "He was very valuable. He kicked an extra point against Hoover (In the 2010 6A state title game which DHS won 7-6 by the margin of Roberts' extra point) and they (The Buccaneers) don’t, so that is a pretty valuable player there. He led soccer in scoring as a junior. So, he is a very multi-talented kid. He probably could have been a quarterback. But he stuck with kicking and he was always that guy we could count on in crunch time. He had big plays for us in three years."

Brandon is the son of Donald Roberts of Daphne and Teresa Bryant of Gulfport, Miss.

Olmsted, a wide receiver with tight end size and good blocking marks as well as good hands signed with Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., where he will enter undeclared for a major.

"It's great," he said. "I told everybody I was signing with them and there was nothing but good coming from people who I talked about Rhodes. It is one of those places where you can get a great education, which is all you really need."

Olmsted, who had knee surgery the day before the signing, said he would miss soccer but had always leaned toward football.

“I always kind of enjoyed playing football a little more. But I love soccer too. I'll miss it."

Vickery said Olmsted would have started as a sophomore were it not for Division I level upperclassmen ahead of him like Justin Jackson now at the University Pittsburgh, Israel Lamprakes now at Southern Illinois — who also had similar knee surgery. And last year, along side classmate T.J. Yeldon now at the University of Alabama.

“For a lot of schools he would have been a starter,” his coach said. “And I think colleges realized he was a good player, academically sound and I think it paid off for him. The hard work and the stick-to-it-ness to keep playing. What a great kid. He is the type of kid you want 22 more of just like him."

Jacob is the son of Walter and Sheryl Olmsted of Daphne.