Following a regular season where the Nicholas County Grizzlies battled injuries and moved pieces around to compensate, they’re back in the postseason for the second consecutive season.
A model of consistency the boys from Summersville appear to have weathered the storm at the right time.
“We’re okay,” Nicholas County head coach Gene Morris said. “We’ve lost a couple with injury but defensively, hopefully we can patch things together. We did that against PikeView trying to give some guys some reps in some spots to take a look at things and hopefully we can settle things in. Offensively I think we’re fine. We had a running back that got injured that’s Kaleb’s (Clark) backup but the injury bug wasn’t kind to us this year because we did get banged up a little bit. Right now we’re fairly healthy.”
Behind a versatile rushing attack and 1,300-yard rusher Kaleb Clark, the No. 12 Grizzlies aim to travel north snd upset a 9-1 Frankfort team which earned the No. 5 seed. Watching the Falcons, Morris knows he has his work cut out for him.
“They’re a very physical team and a very fast team,” Morris said. “They run the ball extremely well and defensively they come forward very well. They play a lot of man type, man free defense and try to lock down your receivers and send five linemen up the field to try and rush the passer. They’re very aggressive on defense. On offense they’re a run-first, pass later type team and have a stable of good running backs. Their special teams are very good too. They’ve got some very good returners and they kick the ball very well. That’s why they’re 9-1 and they’re a pretty good football team.”
The defensive style presents problems for Nicholas County. A run-heavy squad, Frankfort’s preference for man defense means the Grizzlies will have to find a way to lighten the box and open up running lanes.
“It just depends on the numbers in the box,” Morris said. “If you’re in zone and you put two receivers out they’ll usually slide the safety out with a linebacker and a corner. These guys will just slide two guys out so they’ll leave some people in the box. They’ll usually keep somebody in there so it increases the amount of people in the box that we have to block.”
The defensive looks will necessitate finding a rhythm in the passing game. Brycen Morriston has thrown for 312 yards and five touchdowns this season to lead the Grizzlies. Getting him going early is the key to opening up the running game which isn’t lost on Morris. He’s well aware of that and has already planned installed some looks to keep the Falcons honest.
“We’re going to have to do some things in the passing game to make sure they get out of that or atleast move the safety out of the box so he can’t come down quite as quick,” Morris said. “They may have an outside linebacker and a corner on the two outside receivers but we’re going to try and do some things to make sure that they have to bring or cheat the safety over a little bit so that they can’t leave nine guys in the box.”
One thing the Grizzlies do have on their side is playoff experience. Last season they hosted a postseason game, falling in the opening round to Roane County.
“I think it helps being there,” Morris said. “If you’ve been there and you’ve played in them you’re more relaxed going in and I think that will play into it really big. The guys that were in it last year were sophomores that didn’t get in as freshmen but we had to play them that year because we were depleted by graduation the year before. These guys have been with us and starters for three years now so I think that’s going to help us quite a bit.”
Morris isn’t looking past Frankfort but making the playoffs or even winning a game alone aren’t enough. The Grizzlies are hoping for an extended stay in the postseason and hopefully win multiple playoff games for the first time since 2013. The keys to doing so are clear as day in Morris’ eyes.
“It’s about like every Friday night,” Morris said. “You have to control the line of scrimmage, play good solid defense and eliminate turnovers.”
The Grizzlies will begin their journey to Wheeling on Friday when they travel to Frankfort.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94