Enough with the hype, the Wolves are ready to howl.
West Ridge head coach Justin Hilton first began the process of blending the talents from Sullivan South, Sullivan Central and Sullivan North into one unit way back in December.
Finally, it’s time to play ball.
“Friday can’t get here fast enough,” said Hilton, who led Sullivan South to 27 wins over the last four seasons. “We are ready to play, these guys are chomping at the bit so I know they are excited.”
Hilton isn’t the only one. He expects the Wolves to be accompanied to Church Hill tonight to face Volunteer with plenty of new West Ridge fans.
“I have seen nothing but positives from our community and from the school,” Hilton said. “The kids are excited to be here. You wondered how the North and the South and the Central thing would go, but now you just see West Ridge t-shirts everywhere so I think it is really moving along nicely.”
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The Falcons are equally as excited to get the season started, and they get to be part of history.
“We know they are going to excited and ready to play in the school’s first game ever,” Volunteer head coach Jesse McMillian said. “Our program and community are excited as well to be a part of that. So, it will be a fun night down here in Church Hill.”
While Volunteer won a 7-on-7 competition at John Battle in July, Hilton was pleased with how the Wolves looked in a trio of scrimmages, which included Class 4A powers Greeneville and Elizabethton, along with Sullivan East.
“We feel pretty comfortable,” Hilton said. “:We are going to come out and try to run the ball and do that kind of stuff and then throw it when we get an opportunity. We feel like we have got the guys in position to do that.”
Hilton doesn’t expect many surprises from the Falcons. They will be led by quarterback Garrison Barrett, along with a trio of talent receivers with the ability to take the ball to the house.
“He has got as strong of an arm as anybody I have seen and they have got four really, really athletic long receivers,” he said. “Jesse has not made any secret about it, they are going to throw the ball, they are going to try to make big plays. We are going to see if we can eliminate that and we will obviously have to get to the quarterback some.”
McMillian knows that is the plan. The Falcons have to do their best to nullify those efforts.
“Defensively, they are going to give us different looks out of their Odd front so our linemen are going to have to be aware of where they are bringing extra guys from,” McMillian said. “They run well and play hard. Our skill guys have got to make plays and take care of the ball. We gotta be good on third down on both sides to have a chance.”
West Ridge has their own collection of athletes, from All-Class 4A performers Eli Topping and Fletcher Gibson, to quarterback Ethan Bergeron and skilled receivers Isaac Haynie and Peyton Greene. Gibson is the leader of the offensive line that Hilton is excited about.
“A lot of that goes back to the time you put into the weight room and our guys have really invested in that,” he said. “We feel like that could be an advantage for us.”
Volunteer knows it too.
“Offensively, they got some big bodies up front that come off the ball so we have got to be able to hold the point up front,” McMillian said. “Gibson is a monster at OT for them. They will be in Wing-T one play and 4-open the next, so our guys have to be aware of what’s going on with their formations. We have to do a good job containing their skill guys.”
Slowly down the Wolves will definitely be a key to success for the Falcons.
“Bergeron is somebody we can’t let get loose, he’s big, but he can also run well,” McMillian said. “We have to know where Haynie is. He is a long guy that can run, so he certainly presents some match-up problems for us. Then the Greene kid is another one that has been impressive on film. He’s fast, shifty, and runs it hard.”
While West Ridge is a new school, nearly all the coaches have been around a while. Still, Hilton admitted there is an extra bit of excitement for this one.
“I do and that is something that all of our coaches have talked about,” he said. “The majority of the guys on my staff have been doing this for 20 years or more and it is just a refreshing feeling almost like when you first started. Just the unknown of it going in and you have got a group of guys, it has really been fun and has really been exciting.”
bwoodson@bristolnews.com | Twitter: BHCWoodson | (276) 645-2543