2018 NORTHSIDE GRIZZLIES ENERGIZED AFTER LATE-SEASON PUSH

A dose of late-season momentum helped get the Northside Grizzlies through their off-season, including their recently wrapped-up spring workouts. The Grizzlies, who were staring at the possibility of not making the playoffs entering the regular-season finale against Southside, made it into the postseason with a win against the Mavericks. Northside then went on the road at Springdale Har-Ber in the first round of the 7A playoffs and defeated a team which had been ranked No. 1 at one point last season. “I thought we had a great off-season, I felt like our kids worked extremely hard,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “You could tell, ending on a positive note really carried into the same-type attitude heading into winter and then getting into the spring. ?(In the spring) we practiced nine days and out of that nine days, we had one day and I won’t even call it a bad day. But it was just kind of where the energy level hadn’t been there like those other days.” Another reason Falleur liked how the Grizzlies performed in the spring is the fact they return several prominent starters on both sides of the ball. “It was really good and we’ve got a lot of guys coming back that have experience,” he said. “It gave us a chance, too, with some guys that may be young or are going to be juniors to see where they’re at, or who can help us or who’s going to need a year, so it was a good three weeks.” Falleur added that he and his staff like the depth the team will have going into the season. In fact, they moved a couple of players to other positions, and they responded with a good spring. One of those players, senior Deontae Banister, had been in the secondary but was shifted to outside linebacker. “Once he really got the hang of it, the last two weeks of spring he really, really did a great job,” Falleur said. The Grizzlies also moved senior Zach Stephens from the defensive line to the offensive line. Stephens is projected to be the starting left guard. Falleur also had moved a couple of other starters from last season into new roles at the outset of spring. Senior Anthony Travis went from outside to inside linebacker, while fellow senior Raytel Rone went from defensive end to outside linebacker. But Falleur said he was impressed with several younger players at inside linebacker, so he decided to put Travis back at outside linebacker, while Rone returned to the defensive front. “Most everybody else, they played last year so we kind of knew where they were and we expected them to be better and they were,” Falleur said. “I wouldn’t say using the word surprise is right, but very pleased with the progress those guys have made.” Northside also brings back several offensive skill players, headed up by second-year starting quarterback Derrick “Deuce” Wise, entering his senior season. “He started 12 games last year and you watched him progress throughout the football season to where, by the end of the season, you could tell he was a lot more comfortable in making decisions and playing quarterback and he progressed through the winter,” Falleur said. “He had a really good spring and he just looks so much more comfortable there than what he had at the start of last season.” The Grizzlies also plan to utilize a pair of returning running backs in senior Eli Bolton and junior Jackson King while relying on returning receivers like junior J.T. Thorne and junior tight end James Clayton. “I feel really, really good about the skill guys and the experience we’ve got back,” Falleur said. “And then the guys that are behind them are younger and very talented, so probably as deep as we’ve been across the board at the skill positions.” On the defensive side, the Grizzlies return several players in their secondary, including senior cornerbacks Elijah Tabut and Tyriq Adams, along with senior safety Greg Washington, who will be a three-year starter. “There are a lot of guys that have played, with a lot of talent and a lot of experience. ... I feel really good about our starters and our depth in the secondary,” Falleur said. The coach added one of his priorities going into the summer will be for the team to get stronger. It will be even more important this summer, since the Grizzlies will have an early season opener on Aug. 24, taking advantage of the new Zero Week established in Arkansas. “We’ve got to continue to get stronger because we’re not big,” Falleur said. “So we’ve got to be as strong as we can be. ... We’re going to try and go faster on offense, so we’ve got to use (the summer) to get stronger, we’ve got to get in shape and continue to use it to put our stuff in and execute it, because we’re playing earlier. So we’ve got to have a great summer.” The Grizzlies competed in a team camp in Greenwood on Wednesday and will go to another team camp next week in Tulsa. They will also take part in a 7-on-7 showcase in Charleston on June 16. Northside will begin its preseason workouts on July 30 in advance of the season opener on Aug. 24, a home game against Rogers Heritage.

2018 NORTHSIDE GRIZZLIES ENERGIZED AFTER LATE-SEASON PUSH

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 5/31/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Photo