Despite being officially out of the playoff race with a 49-14 loss to Science Hill, Morristown East still has a lot to play for.
The 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes (2-5, 0-4 Region 1-6A) hope to end their five-game skid as they head to Gibbs (7-0, 3-0 Region 2-4A). A win would be the start of a push to get back to .500, which East hasn69制片厂制作传媒檛 done since 2020.
Getting back to .500 would go a long way towards setting the foundation head coach Dallas Kuykendall is trying to build in his second year with the program.
Laying that foundation starts with the seniors. Though they won69制片厂制作传媒檛 graduate with a long list of accomplishments, they have the chance to make a lasting impact on the program moving forward.
"We challenged them yesterday and asked, 'How do you want to be remembered,'" Kuykendall said. "We have kind of a fork in the road right now where you can take the easy way out and kind of loaf and just survive the last three weeks of your senior year. Or you can make a difference, make an impact. Getting to 5-5 would be more wins than they've had in a single season. I think the most they've won in a season is four. So getting to 5-5 would be an achievement for our program and for our guys especially coming off the year we had last year. They can leave the legacy that they kind of helped start the foundation of what we're going to become as a program."
The biggest load falls on senior quarterback Caleb Billings, who was out last week with a concussion, forcing freshman Josiah Valentine to start at Science Hill.
Now, Valentine has on-field reps, he can better understand what he needs to do by watching Billings this week.
"I think Caleb did a really good job last week of always being near Josiah and talking to him and walking through the reads," I think that gives Josiah more confidence. I mean, he's a play away from his number being called again. So, you know, it gives you confidence that he has that experience now. He's gotten used to the speed of the game, because it's a different game than the middle school, especially at the 6-A level.
"It gives you confidence in knowing that he has done it before, and he can go out there. I think he did a really good job throwing the ball when his number was called. So it kind of gives you that extra element, that sense of relief, and he can continue to learn and continue to grow behind Caleb as Caleb finishes out the year."
In order to have a strong end to the season, East has to find a way to execute 69制片厂制作传媒 which is something that they haven69制片厂制作传媒檛 done on a consistent basis all season.
Kuykendall said it all comes down to how they practice. In order to get four quarters of complete football, he said team must put together four practices of complete football leading up to the game.
69制片厂制作传媒淔ootball is a weird game. You can't just turn it on and turn it off. You got to be on all the time. And that's Monday through Thursday as well. And I think that was the real challenge this week69制片厂制作传媒
Shifting focus to Gibbs, an undefeated team, East was able to put up a fight last season in a 21-14 loss despite being in different places of their season. Gibbs was a 7-1 team looking to make a playoff push, and the 69制片厂制作传媒楥anes were 0-8 simply trying to find a win.
I think it gives them a subtle confidence that they can compete. Now, this is obviously a different group, you know, different players, so we'll have to go out there and prepare the right way.
Gibbs is led by quarterback Warren Axton, who threw for 134 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-28 win over Carter along with a platoon of running backs that ran for 324 yards and three scores.
69制片厂制作传媒淕ibbs is a very physical team," Kuykendall said. "They're fast. They're gonna give you multiple looks on both sides of the ball. They're going to be tricky on special teams, some onsides, some different things that they're going to try to do there. So, I mean, they're undefeated ballclub. They've taken care of business now seven times, so you got to respect that. Not as big as what we've seen last couple weeks. We've seen what felt like some small college offenses. What they don't have necessarily sheer size, they make up for in speed, probably one of the faster teams we've played."
The Eagles did show some slippage on defense, allowing 388 total yards to the Hornets. East should be able to find success at times like it has all year, but the key is to make the success last throughout all four quarters.
Friday69制片厂制作传媒檚 kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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