‘Nothing Else Like It’: Clarksville’s Denver Pickartz Shines In The Game He Loves
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by Janice Penix
Born into a military family, Denver Pickartz spent his early years moving between Scranton and an Army base in Virginia before his parents returned home to Logan County for good when he was in the sixth grade.
But it was never in doubt when seventh grade rolled around, Pickartz would move his enrollment to Clarksville. The Panthers offered something he couldn’t get at Scranton: football.
“Football is why I came to Clarksville,” Pickartz said. “I just love playing. There is nothing else like it.”
The senior linebacker earned both All-State and All-Conference honors this season, closing out an accomplished high school career.
He recorded a team-high 83 tackles in 2025, 13 of which were for a loss. He also played running back for the Panthers and was a dynamic leader on both sides of the ball, according to Clarksville Head Coach Mitchell Powers.
“He has always been one we have depended on for both sides of the ball, and he was a great lead-by-example player for us this year as a senior,” Powers said. “He led us in total rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards per game, explosive plays, solo tackles, assisted tackles, total tackles, and tackles for loss.”
Defensive Star
Although he was the leading rusher for the Panthers, Pickartz said defense is what he enjoys most.
“Defense is way more fun, and I feel like I’m better at it,” he said. “I like to hit. I play downhill and am aggressive, even if the dude is bigger than me. I also don’t ever give up on plays.
“But I had to play both sides, so I feel like it took away from my defensive capabilities a little bit. I feel like if we’d have had just one more player to run the ball, I think I would have gotten better at defense.
“But I learned to like offense too. Before this year, I was rotating with Ali (Martinez), and I actually kind of started to like playing offense. I kind of picked it up a little more.”
Pickartz said he has spent significant time in the weight room and dedicated himself to getting stronger each year, which has improved his athletic ability.
“I barely would take a day or two of rest a week,” he said. “In preseason, I would always go to the field after workouts. I had to work out with football, and then I would work out on my own the same day. I would work out twice a day basically, including practice.
“I would also try to eat decently, but it’s low-key hard,” he added, laughing. “To be honest, I eat anything I can find.”
His coaches noticed the extra time Pickartz put into bettering himself.
“Denver is our most physical player we have, and one that will work extra on his own when he leaves,” Powers said. “He always showed up with a good attitude and kept a great work ethic. He takes a lot of ownership on himself to hold a high standard on the field and had to be the coach on the field for the defense.”
Developing As A Player
His first year as a senior high Panther, Pickartz learned from the example of senior All-State linebacker Rhett Fultz, who graduated in 2024. Although he wasn’t a starter as a sophomore, he quickly became a part of the action.
“I didn’t start my first game sophomore year, but I got put in at halftime and ended up having 10 or 11 tackles,” he said. “I don’t even know what was in me, because I was a little sophomore. I got to start after the first few games. It was nice to get to play with Rhett and some of the other upperclassmen.
Pickartz said the older players taught him the value of determination.
“I learned to never give up on anything,” he said. “It’s always going to be a fight, no matter what, and there’s always going to be some bigger players, but you can’t let that stop you.”
Pickartz said during his 10th grade season, he also became more focused on gaining weight and size.
“I was small, like 170-something pounds. I wasn’t weak, but weight-wise I was small compared to most people,” he said.
During his junior season, Pickartz continued to build on the progress he had made in 10th grade and started to develop better offensive skills at running back alongside Martinez.
“I made a lot of changes,” he said. “I hit the gym pretty hard in preseason and I felt like I made a lot of progress that year. I got the most tackles I’ve ever had that year, and I started playing offense. That was nice because we had two running backs who were not bad, and Ali was fast.”
The group of players who were one year older than Pickartz were familiar teammates, going back to his days in Johnson County Boys Club.
“I just always played football with them, and I felt like I had good chemistry with them ever since JCBC,” he said. “
He also got the opportunity to play with older teammates during his years in Virginia.
“I used to play up,” he said. “I only played defense when I played up. I’d play one game and then I’d have to come back, like two hours later, to play another game.”
Playing against older players helped to build his confidence, Pickartz said.
“I feel like I improved a lot because the level out there is insane,” he said. “We went to the semifinals, I think. They were good. We only had military coaches because it was a military base.”
Leading The Way
In his senior season, Pickartz became a leader to his younger teammates, although he said he wasn’t usually loud about it.
“I do feel like I was a leader, but I feel like I was more quiet about it,” he said. “Sometimes I try to talk more, but I don’t know. I’m not used to yelling and stuff. On defense, I was vocal a lot of times, because I had to make sure everybody was doing their job. I have to talk every single play, every call. That was my job as linebacker. But after that, I wasn’t always very vocal.”
Stephen Banning, Clarksville’s defensive coordinator, said Pickartz set a high bar for those around him.
“He did an outstanding job as one of our inside linebackers this year,” Banning said. “He was smart, physical, fast, strong, and tough. He led our defense in tackles … and was a strong leader and led by example daily on and off the field. Denver’s attitude of grit and determination either in practice or in games was second to none.”
Even though the Panthers won only two games during Pickartz’s high school career, he said he will remember many other goals he and his teammates achieved.
“There are a lot of things that I feel like we accomplished as a team,” he said. “It’s not all about winning, really, even though a lot of people like winning. Yes, I would like to look back and say we won more, but it’s not near as important as other stuff, like the team, the people you get to be around. I just enjoy that.
“We were a small team, working our butts off, and learning that after losing, if you can go through that, you can go through a lot. I know it’s ‘just football,’ but it’s not just football for most people. It’s a physically demanding sport, and you go against some crazy good teams, some big teams. If you just keep going at it, then I feel like it’s way tougher than anything else you might come against.”
Pickartz said he is especially proud of the perseverance his fellow seniors displayed throughout three difficult seasons.
“A lot of us stuck it out,” he said. “Most of the seniors definitely stuck together. We always were there, sticking it out and really putting in anything we could. Even though there’s always people who don’t try or don’t show up. There’s always people who do that, but I feel like it was on us to be the role models on the field. We tried to give it our all, to make it fun and to just enjoy it.”
Looking Ahead
Pickartz is not sure what his next step will be after graduation in May. He plans to attend some college camps with the hopes of receiving an offer to play football at the next level, but he also is considering college or trade school. His favorite time at school, outside of football, is spent in the Career and Technical School (CATS) shop.
Wherever life takes him, though, he said he will miss Clarksville football.
“I will miss the physical aspect, having the urge to work for something like that, and the competition,” he said. “I’ll just miss the feeling of needing to do better. Even though there’s going to be other stuff like that, it’s a different feeling of pushing yourself.”
Although he played other sports during his youth league and junior high years, Pickartz said football was always where his heart was.
“Nothing really comes close to it,” he said. “I’ve tried other sports, and I played every sport since until I was a freshman. But when I went to football full-time, I never wanted to play another sport again besides football.”
Banning said Pickartz’s impact has been felt throughout the program.
“Denver is a great young man,” Banning said. “He will be missed for sure on our defense next year, and our linebackers of the future will have big shoes to fill. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him because with his work ethic and personality there is no doubt he will do great things. I was grateful and privileged to coach him all these years.”
As his high school career comes to a close, Pickartz has zeroed in on his proudest accomplishment.
“Never giving up,” he said. “I never thought about giving up. Clearly, it’s pretty easy to give up. But I’ve seen too many people give up, and I’m pretty proud of pushing myself hard. It’s enjoyable, to be honest, and afterwards, it’s the best feeling.”
–Photos courtesy Stix Media
Read this story and others in the Jan. 14 issue of The Graphic, available online and at businesses throughout Franklin and Johnson counties. Subscribe or donate here to support more hometown journalism.
