FORT SMITH (KFSM) - Northside put together it's biggest run in more than a decade last season thanks in large part to the playmaking ability of Derrick Wise.
Now the quarterback is gone so the Grizzlies are going to turn to the rest of the offense to pick up the slack instead of relying on one player to fill the role of the graduated Wise.
"We’ve probably got the best skill position in Arkansas," Northside tight end James Clayton said. "We’ve got some really good talent. We’ve just got to abuse the talent we have. Get out on the perimeter and score some touchdowns."
"Each position has their own job and we each need to do our own job," receiver Jackson King added. "(Quarterback) Dreyden (Norwood) is new. He needs to do his own job. Our receivers need to learn to catch the ball, run with it."
"They’re going to help me out a lot and I’m going to help them out a lot and we’re excited about this year," Norwood said.
"What we’ve tried to impress upon them is we’ve got a good group, core guys coming back but we lost a really good group of people," Northside coach Mike Falleur said. "Seven of those guys are playing college football right now so young guys have to step forward and grow up."
Northside took a big step forward last season as they reached the 7A semifinals for the first time since the formation of the classification and the final four for the first time since 2005. Playing in the 7A-Central won't make that an easy feat to duplicate but they are just focused on the first step instead of the big picture.
"Coming out everyday," safety Montay Parks said. "Practice, working hard. Listening to the coaches. Doing what we’re supposed to do."
"We’ve got to take it game by game," Clayton said. "We have Rogers Heritage this week and we’ve got to come prepared. We can’t take them lightly. We’ve got to go out and play our game."
