Bryant has to travel to Fort Smith for their first conference tilt of the season. The Northside Grizzlies are off to a 1-2 start, with losses coming to Greenwood and Pine Bluff. But, they blew out Van Buren in their first home game, 41-28. When the Hornets come to town, they will look to protect their perfect record.
Last year, the Grizzlies shut out the Hornets 29-0 at Bryant. Coach Buck James and his team are not taking their opponent lightly, even after a demonstrative 56-7 win over Lake Hamilton last week.
“Their quarterback is very talented, and he is capable of scoring on any play,” James said. “He has a very strong arm; he’s very athletic. He’s a big, strong kid; he’s like a tailback or a big wide receiver at the quarterback position. They’re big. They’ve got some athleticism. To date, they’ll probably be the biggest football team we’ve played.”
That sets up a battle of wills in the trenches for these teams because the Hornets like to play physical football. Northside wants to play a style of defense that allows them to keep everything in front of them. Rather than send blitzes and match up with receivers in man coverage, the Grizzlies try to play with cushion and allow plays to develop so their speedy defense can react and fly to the ball.
This means that the Hornets offense will have to play a patient ballgame and quarterback Ren Hefley, who threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns last week vs. the Wolves, may have to take check downs. But if the team stays disciplined, they should continue to run the ball well and use physicality to control the line of scrimmage.
“They’re not gonna get beat deep,” James said. “They have enough athletes back there that they can run. They’re big up front. You’ve just gotta be patient against them.”
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Listen to the game on 93.7 FM/690 AM.