There were plenty of good things in 2016 for the Northside Grizzlies.

They finished second in the 7A-Central, highlighted by their first win against Southside since 2005. It also earned them a trip to the 7A quarterfinals but the joyride came to an end with a home loss to Bentonville.

And now, with the 2017 season approaching, the Grizzlies are essentially starting over. That’s especially true on defense, as they must replace nine starters, including University of Oklahoma signee Tre Norwood and Dartmouth College signee Tanner Cross.

“I’m not just going to use the word young, I’m going to use the word inexperienced,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “We’ve got some seniors that are going to be starting, but it’s really going to be their first time. They played on (junior varsity) and they may have played in some games as juniors, but as far as (varsity experience) it’s going to be the first time for a bunch of them.

“And we are going to play a bunch of young guys, so we’re an inexperienced football team. I like their attitude, I like the way they work, you never know for sure how somebody’s going to handle it until you’re out there and you’re doing it.”

The Grizzlies are also breaking in several new players on offense. One familiar face from last season will be playing a different position, as junior Derrick “Deuce” Wise (5-foot-10, 182 pounds) shifts from tailback to quarterback.

Senior Josh Douglas (6-0, 180) will be the backup, but may likely see more action at receiver. Sophomore Jackson King (5-10, 175) is another backup at quarterback.

Eli Bolton is the likely starter at tailback. King as well as another sophomore, DeMarion Shepard, will also see action.

Senior Jordan Dilworth (5-11, 162) will be the slotback, and he’s a player Falleur is real high on.


“He’s a senior that we’re really excited about; he’s got great speed,” Falleur said. “We’ve just got to keep him healthy; he tends to be injury-prone so he’s just got to stay healthy.”

J.T. Thorne (5-8, 141), a sophomore, will back up Dilworth.

Senior DeAron Robinson (6-1, 183) returns at one of the receiver positions.

“He’s had a great, great summer,” Falleur said. “Great spring, great winter. We’re really counting on him to be a big-time player for us.”

Senior Shamar Lenzy and sophomore Preston Baugh will back up Robinson.

Another senior, Devonte Bausley, is the projected starter at the Z receiver position.

“Fast, got great speed,” Falleur said. “He needs to do a little bit better job concentrating on catching the football.”

Behind Bausley are junior Greg Washington (6-0, 170) and sophomore Jeremy Maffei.

Three sophomores will be vying for tight end: James Clayton, Stetson Van Matre and Jacob Arnold.

The Grizzlies return several starters on the offensive line, notably junior right tackle Stevie Young.

“I feel like he has a chance to be as good as anybody in the state of Arkansas,” Falleur said. “He’s 6-3, 6-4, 290 pounds and can run, does a great job.”

Senior left guard Cody Harris (5-8, 245) is another returning starter, along with fellow senior Hunter Linam, who played at left tackle last season but may play center. Josh Adkins, a junior, can play center if Linam returns to left tackle. If Linam plays center, senior Jesus Raya or junior Axel Sedano are the leading candidates at left tackle.

Right guard is senior Will Balestrino (6-1, 280), who played several games there last season. Senior Drake Stem may see action there as well.

On defense, the Grizzlies’ three-man front will be overhauled. Senior Trey Rideout and junior Raytel Rone are projected starters at the ends, while senior Taqee Patrick (6-2, 205) is the likely nose guard.

“All three of those guys are 6-1, 6-2, about 210, 215, and all of them can run,” Falleur said.

Other candidates up front include Young, Linam, Jalil Zainuba, Zane Key, Khaden Washington, Jametaurious Coleman and Aaron Fields.

Senior Locke Stubblefield returns at inside linebacker, with fellow seniors Alan Infante and Jason Serpas backing up Stubblefield.

Cole Eddins (5-9, 165) moves from the secondary to fill one of the outside linebacker spots. The other may be manned by Anthony Travis, a member of the 7A champion basketball squad who didn’t play football last season. Thorne and Robinson are the backups.

Junior Elijah Tabut, who started several games at cornerback last season, returns, with Lenzy on the other side. Skyler Mingboupha, Wise and King are the backups. Washington will see more action at safety than at receiver. Junior Tyriq Adams (5-8, 155) is the other starter at safety, with Maffei and Montay Parks seeing some time there as well.

Sophomore Henry Hernandez and senior Jose Paredes are vying for the placekicker role. Paredes and Serpas are the top candidates at punter. Linam serves as the deep snapper.

“I keep telling them, we’ve got to come to work every day, we’ve got to take every opportunity to get better, to improve ourselves, to get ourselves as ready for that as we can be,” Falleur said.

“You go back to the winter, I felt like we had as productive an off-season as we’ve had since I’ve been here. These kids understand what it takes and what we have to do to be successful, and we probably have to work a little more harder and a little bit longer than some people because we don’t have a lot of depth, so we’ve got to develop guys and hopefully get them ready to play.”
