COLTON >> All across the country in the last few months, football players who played in one of the first 49 Super Bowls got the opportunity to present their high school alma mater with a golden football.

Tuesday evening was Colton High alumnus Jimmy Smith’s opportunity to do so at a gathering at the school’s auditorium, including a gathering of school and district officials, former coaches, current Colton players and other members of the Colton community.

“Very few NFL players get to play in the Super Bowl,” Smith’s former coach, Harold Strauss, said. “Fewer get to win one. And fewer still get to do it in their rookie year and make the big play at the end.”

A highlight video was shown of Smith’s college an pro career, including from Super Bowl XLVII when Smith, a defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens, made the game-saving defensive play on fourth down to preserve the victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

But Smith, who just finished his fifth season with the Ravens, wanted to stress to those in attendance the importance of the people around you.

“You need to go to class, get good grades, stay out of trouble,” Smith said. “Some people can bring you down, and other people can uplift you.”

Although others were also important to Smith, two of the big influences were his Colton teammates, Shareece Wright and Allen Bradford, who both also played in the NFL.

And last season, Smith and Wright got to live out a lifelong dream, to play as teammates in the NFL for the first time when Wright signed with the Ravens. It also looks like they’ll be together for a while, as Wright just signed a three-year contract to stay with the Ravens.

“He said to me, ‘I’ve got (offers from) Seattle and Baltimore,” Smith said. “I said, ‘It has to be Baltimore.’ That’s our dream to play together.”

And it has been a dream come true, he said.

“It’s a joy to have your best friend from high school on the same football team,” said Smith, who lives in Rancho Cucamonga. “It’s something you dream about. Everybody talks about it, but we’re actually living it out right now.”

Colton Athletic Director Scott Sunderland enjoys that Smith hasn’t forgotten his hometown.

“They come back here all the time,” Sunderland said. “That’s what makes this community so great, why I like it so much. People know where they’re from and don’t forget it.”

Smith did have to offer a playful dig to Colton assistant principal Brian Pope. Smith signed Ravens No. 22 jersey (Smith’s number) for Pope, who is also a 49ers fan. On it, Smith wrote “4th and 5” and “Super Bowl Champ never forget.”