For head coach Anthony Dillon, he understands the importance of team play. Dillon has been vocal during the offseason to stress that one player does not make his Eagles football team, but a joint effort from each member of his 2019 squad. Last season his team finished 5-7 with another playoff appearance in the Dillon tenure. This season, he hopes that they will continue a trend upward.
In last Friday evening’s scrimmages, North Forrest finished 1-1, defeating Mount Olive and falling to Seminary. Dillon was impressed with what he saw about his team after both scrimmages.
“We were very impressed. We saw some good things, of course, we saw some bad things. We know we have a very young team and a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience. We just have to go get that film, go back and evaluate it, and try to pick up on the bad plays we had, then grow on the good plays we had.”
Dillon has also been pleased with how summer and fall have gone, crediting the leaders at North Forrest for helping assist him and the staff help players get to practice.
“It’s been very good this year. We have a great superintendent - Mr. Brian Freeman and principal Mrs. Jennifer Riels. They approved it so we could run a bus route this summer. We had central location stops in each community that we could go to and each player would be there bright and early. We just had a great summer. We are hoping all of the hard work will pay off this coming season.”
A new rule that was put in place by the MHSAA for 2019 is the 40-second play clock, replacing the 25-second play clock. The Eagles will look to utilize it to control the ball offensively.
“We want to try to control the clock because we only have 25 players on the roster this year. Coming into week one we are playing a very good Lumberton team who has about 50 on the roster, so we know they are not going to have as many as us who play both ways [offense and defense]. We just have to play smart and not let our guys get fatigued so fast. It is this Mississippi weather especially early in the season. We know the heat makes you cramp and can exhaust you, so we just have to be careful and give our guys a breather whenever we can.”
North Forrest opens their season this Friday night at home against Lumberton. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
