Blytheville head coach Maurice Moody returns to the sidelines he once roamed as an assistant coach, Friday night.
Moody and the Chicks (1-0) invade AP overall sixth-ranked West Memphis (1-0) in the Blue Devils' home-opener.
"West Memphis is close to my heart," Moody said. "I was there for a year. I got the chance to know those guys and learn some football. I got a chance to be around Lanny Dausch, one of the greatest coaches that ever coached in the state of Arkansas; Grafton Moore, one of the greatest coaches who won a state championship at my alma mater at Earle High School back in '74. It's just a special game to me. Last year it was all new to us, taking over the program here."
West Memphis thumped Blytheville, 52-6, last season.
According to Moody, the Blue Devils are down a little bit this year, though beating the former longtime conference rival isn't an easy task. As it has for years, West Memphis plays smashmouth football, something the players learn at an early age.
"This is going to be a fun ball game to coach," the Chickasaw coach said. "I'm not as nervous as I was last year about it. We're going open some things up and we're going to try to do some things differently and try to defend them a little bit differently. I think we've got the right people in the right place. Our personnel is very sound against them. If you really think about it, we may be a little bit more athletic than they are this year. They've got plenty of athletes. Don't get me wrong. But we've got Greg (McKillion), we've got DeMarko (Clark), we've got Langston (Jenkins). Our list goes on and on. They don't have that marquee name yet that they always have."
Moody added West Memphis is going to be tough every year.
"They are going to be extremely physical," he said. "They're going to be extremely fast and they're going to play extremely hard."
Moody said his club must play hard and fast, along with avoiding turnovers if it is going to pull off the upset.
He noted the Chicks can't have the large number of negative plays they did last week against Osceola. Most of the plays that lost yardage came out of the Pistol formation via a bad snap or an Osceola blitz.
When Blytheville lined up in the single-wing, it seemed to overpower the Seminoles.
"It was a total domination on the line of scrimmage," Moody said. "When we got in the single wing, we just walked it up and down the field. When we spread it out a little bit, we became a more finesse ball club, they just pinned back their ears and got back on us. Their nose tackle hurt us a bit, got us some high snaps and we just didn't pick up blocks out of that. We're trying to rectify that."
He said his club can't allow West Memphis good field position by turning it over or constantly losing yardage.
Moody said each play must go for positive yardage, even if it is only a yard.
"West Memphis doesn't need any help," he said.
Moody noted some of the Blue Devils to watch include Dausch's son, receiver/outside linebacker Cody Dausch; defensive tackle Dillon Cissell, who benches 350 and squats "the entire field house;" and linebacker Clayton Carpenter, "probably the smartest kid on the football team."
Then, of course, there is quarterback Boo Roberts, who runs a 4.4 40.
Moody added the Blue Devils have a loaded sophomore class.
"You do not want to see West Memphis in another year," he said. "If you want to get them, you better get them this year."
That's easier said than done.
"No matter how down West Memphis is, nobody in 5A can beat West Memphis," Moody said, noting the Blue Devils will gauge where his club is as Blytheville continues to prepare for conference play, which begins in Week 4 at Wynne.
"I'm extremely excited about this ball game," he added. "I can't wait for Friday night. I can't predict what will happen. I know if we take care of the football, and we play good, sound football offensively, execute well and run to the football on defense, I think we'll have a shot."
Moody anticipates a packed house, including a nice Blytheville contingent. He expects a tough game with a lot of media coverage.
"This is where you need to perform," he said. "This is where you need to show the state of Arkansas that you can play football, that you're not the same Blytheville of old."
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com