Summersville – Just like many towns across West Virginia, Friday night football is a highly anticipated time for the folks in Summersville.
“It really is special. The fans that follow us, home and away, like to come and support these guys,” veteran Nicholas County head coach, Gene Morris said. “It is just a great community atmosphere. It is exciting some nights for the home team and sometimes it is disappointing, but either way we will take it.”
With the official start of the 2021 football season just over two weeks away, the Grizzlies are using the three week period in July to get in some early preparation for the upcoming season.
“It depends on the type of team that you have. If you are an experienced team, it may help some. If you are an inexperienced team, I think it helps a lot. It is based on your own personnel,” Morris said about the value of the three week period. “The one nice thing about the three week period this year is we have been informed that we can use helmets and shoulder pads. Next week we are going half-light and hitting the bags and some things like that. I think that will definitely help.”
Fielding a young, mostly inexperienced team last year, Nicholas County had its struggles and took its fair share of lumps along the way. In 2021, the Grizzlies will have much more experienced and they ready to hand out some payback.
“We lost a couple of guys on defense and three guys on offense. The seniors we had played hard and were great leaders. We just didn’t have many of them,” Morris said. “A lot of the guys we played with last year were sophomores and a handful of juniors. They are all back with a little bit more experience and a little bit more strength. They have more game knowledge and that should help us tremendously.”
One of the most experienced areas for Nicholas County is right where every coach wants it to be – the offensive line.
“The nice thing is we didn’t lose any interior lineman off our six-man unit if you include our tight end,” Morris said. “That is where you want to have your experience which gives you the ability to block up front.”
The strength along the front line will be a huge key this year because the Grizzlies will be hitting the field with a first-year varsity quarterback this season.
“We have two young men that are battling for that position which makes them both better,” Morris explained. “It doesn’t look like one is ahead of the other right now in any aspect. I think both of them are moving the ball pretty well and reading things pretty well. Both of them are doing a pretty good job. It will come down to who can move the team when we get out of the T-shirts and into the pads. That is when we find things out.”
“I tell people all of the time, I can still play quarterback in a T-shirt,” Morris went on to say, laughing. “It’s when you get the pads on and folks come running at you, that is when things get a little different. They are in a situation where they still have to be “the guy.” That means they will need to step in and take that leadership role. It does help to have a good offensive unit around them that will pick each other up. That is the most important part.”
The schedule for Nicholas County starts out with road games at Oak Hill and Shady Spring. A trip to always tough Midland Trail comes midway through the season and a big home showdown with Independence happens on Oct. 22.
After missing the playoffs last year, Morris feels this group has the potential to be one of the top 16 teams in Class AA.
“We are like every other school in southern West Virginia, you get a couple of guys banged up and things change. The guys have worked hard and one of the goals is to make the playoffs. I would think if they play well and play together, we have that opportunity,” Morris said.
“The great thing right now is the guys are motivated and focused in on their assignments. We are a little better this week than we were last. We have noticed when we have been doing our installs that things are going much quicker. Their communication is good. Hopefully all of the experience will pay dividends in the long run.”
