🏈 THE FRIDAY NIGHT HOLLER REPORT/Ridgeview Wolfpack🏈

Preseason Edition With Special Guest Reporter Hulk Hogan

THE PACK IS HUNGRY, BROTHER!

ROSE RIDGE, VA — Well, let me tell you something, brother.

The Ridgeview Wolfpack went 11-2, reached the Region 2D championship game and finished runner-up last season. For plenty of football programs, that's the kind of year you hang on the wall, talk about all winter and feel pretty good about when August rolls around again.

Apparently nobody told the Wolfpack they're supposed to be satisfied.

Ridgeview returns seven starters on defense and six on offense, and expectations around Rose Ridge are about as subtle as Hulk Hogan ripping off a yellow T-shirt in the middle of the ring.

People expect this bunch to win.

Coach Kent Grant knows it too, but he's already telling his players to quit looking at last year's record and preseason predictions.

“It’s a whole new year, we’re a whole new team and we’ve got a long way to go to get to where we want to get to. We return a good nucleus of kids, but football is the ultimate team sport. It takes 11. It doesn’t take six or seven, it takes 11 guys, so we’ve got some holes to fill.”

The Hulkster couldn't have said it much better.

“That's right, brother! Six guys can't win a football game. Seven guys can't win it. You need all ELEVEN Wolfpack maniacs pulling the same direction when that bell rings!”

🐺 A YOUNG PACK WITH BIG EXPECTATIONS

Ridgeview carries 45 players into the season, but don't mistake experience at several key positions for an old football team. The Wolfpack has only four seniors, backed by a talented junior class of 11 players.

Plenty of preseason predictions have Ridgeview among the best teams in Region 2D. Grant doesn't want his players paying much attention to any of them.

“We can’t let that affect how we go about things. We’re preparing no differently than we were last year. Our hunger has got to be no different than it was last year.”

That's probably the biggest challenge facing Ridgeview this preseason. Last year's Wolfpack was chasing something. This year's team has everybody telling them how good they're supposed to be before they've played a down.

Hulk Hogan knows a little something about being the favorite.

“Brother, everybody wants the championship belt until they find out how much work it takes to carry it! Rankings don't block anybody. Predictions don't make tackles. And nobody ever won a championship because somebody picked 'em in August!”

🏃 FOUR GUYS, ONE FOOTBALL

The biggest change comes in the Ridgeview backfield.

Last season, the Wolfpack could hand the football to Jaalan Deel and let him go to work. The All-Region 2D running back rushed for more than 1,700 yards and 27 touchdowns before moving on to UVA Wise.

You don't casually replace 1,700 yards and 27 trips to the end zone.

So Ridgeview isn't necessarily going to try.

Instead of finding one player to replace Deel's production, the Wolfpack plans to attack defenses with four different rushing threats.

Xander Wallace returns to the backfield, while Colin Hill and Alex Grant move from receiver to running back. Then there's the fourth member of the group, new starting quarterback Braxton Deel.

The junior can throw it. He can run it. And according to his coach, he's bringing a little attitude with him.

“He’s a fireplug. He’s a high-energy guy and he plays with excitement. He plays with passion and we’re excited to see what he can do.”

Fireplug?

Somewhere Hulk Hogan just reached for another shirt to rip.

“NOW YOU'RE TALKING MY LANGUAGE, BROTHER! You got four guys who can run the football and a quarterback who plays like somebody just rang the bell at WrestleMania? WHATCHA GONNA DO when you don't know which Wolfpack maniac is getting the ball?”

🧱 THE QUESTION IS UP FRONT

All those running backs won't mean much if nobody opens a hole.

That's where Ridgeview has some work to do.

Only two starters return on the offensive line, making that unit perhaps the biggest preseason question mark for the Wolfpack. Senior Gunner McCoy and junior Logan Justice return to anchor the group, while Connor Blevins has drawn praise during the preseason and appears likely to join them up front.

It isn't the glamorous part of football. Nobody puts offensive linemen on many preseason posters, and you don't see many kids in the backyard pretending to make a pulling block.

But if Ridgeview wants another 11-win season and another shot at the Region 2D championship, those big fellas are going to have plenty to say about it.

“Listen here, brother! Everybody loves the touchdown, but somebody's gotta move that 250-pound dude standing in the way. That's where the real Hulkamaniacs live, down in the trenches!”

🛡️ SEVEN STARTERS BACK ON DEFENSE

Things look more familiar when Ridgeview doesn't have the football.

The Wolfpack returns seven defensive starters, although Grant said some players will move around and take on different roles. As is usually the case in Southwest Virginia high school football, many of the same names carrying the football Friday night will turn around and start chasing it a few minutes later.

That's life when your roster has 45 instead of 145.

Ridgeview does have one unusual hole to fill on special teams. Connor Smith, who handled both punting and placekicking duties, has moved on to play college football at Arkansas.

Grant summed that situation up pretty well.

“We were spoiled on special teams.”

Yeah, Coach. You were.

Finding somebody who can consistently flip field position and handle kicking duties isn't quite as easy as wandering down the hallway and asking who played soccer.

🔔 FIRST UP: THE BLACK DIAMOND MINERS BOWL

There won't be much time for Ridgeview to admire last year's 11 victories.

The Wolfpack opens the regular season Friday against newly consolidated Southern Gap in the Black Diamond Miners Bowl. Ridgeview's first home game follows Sept. 4 against Honaker, with the Mountain 7 District opener coming Sept. 11 at home against Central.

That's when all those preseason rankings stop mattering.

Ridgeview knows what an 11-win season feels like. It knows what playing for a regional championship feels like. Unfortunately, this group also knows what it feels like to walk away as the runner-up.

Grant doesn't want his players spending much time thinking about either one.

New year. New team. New quarterback. New backfield.

And one hungry Wolfpack.

The pieces are certainly there. Thirteen starters return between offense and defense, the backfield suddenly has four different ways to hurt you, and a talented junior class means Ridgeview could be dangerous for more than just one season.

But before anybody starts measuring a spot for a Region 2D championship trophy, the Wolfpack has some holes to fill and a whole season of football standing between August and December.

The Hulkster has just one piece of advice.

“Ridgeview Wolfpack, forget about what happened last year! Forget about the rankings! Take those four seniors, those hungry juniors and every Wolfpack maniac you've got and handle your business ONE FRIDAY NIGHT AT A TIME!”

Because somewhere down the road, if Ridgeview keeps winning, somebody is going to stand between the Wolfpack and that championship belt again.

And when they do, there's only one question left:

WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THE RIDGEVIEW WOLFPACK RUNS WILD ON YOU, BROTHER?!

🏈 Friday Night Holler Football Reports
Big hits. Big plays. Small-town football. And just enough foolishness to keep Friday night interesting.

BROTHER!