The Blytheville Chickasaws have yet to win this season as they have had no easy schedule.
On Friday night, that schedule won’t get any easier as the Chicks travel to West Memphis to face the West Memphis Blue Devils.
According to Chicks head coach Lance Stone, the Blue Devils are big and athletic and also will have several Division I players on both sides of the ball.
“West Memphis is big and athletic. Just like the previous two teams we’ve played,” Stone said. “They have several D-1 players on both sides of the ball. We will have to bring our ‘A’ game this week.”
Last week, Chicks senior star running back Jermel Woods nearly had 200 yards rushing with two touchdowns against the rivaled Osceola Seminoles in a loss.
Sophomore quarterback Jeremiah Northern, however, seemed to struggle as he is still catching up to the speed of the game. Northern went 3 for 13 for 25 yards through the air while picking up 55 yards on the ground against Osceola. Northern wasn’t helped out much, however, as his receivers dropped several passes.
“Jeremiah is getting better every week. Sometimes he tries to place the football instead of just throwing it and that hurts him,” Stone explained. “He did make some good throws but our wide receivers had some drops. We just have to keep grinding and get better. There is no instant fix unfortunately.”
Another challenge for the Chicks to start the season is the amount of penalties they have collected. Stone stated nearly all of the penalties have come from a lack of focus.
“Almost all of our penalties are lack of focus penalties —offsides and false starts,” said Stone. “Those are the ones you are most disappointed in. Again, it’s something we just have to keep working on.”
Defensively, the Chickasaws have allowed 77 points— against Marion (44) and Osceola (33)— in the first two weeks.
Stone said the number one focus right now is to improve tackling, but it also includes the offense and special teams getting better.
“We have to improve tackling. That’s our number one focus. The defense has been put in bad positions several times in the first two ball games by the offense and special teams,” Stone explained.
“As the offense and special teams improve, so will the defense. All three phases have to work and compliment each other.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in West Memphis between the Chicks (0-2) and the Blue Devils (0-1).