11 in 11 Part 9: Malcom Grigsby

Malcom Grigsby has started at linebacker and fullback so far this season. Grigsby is one of the hardest hitters on defense and a reliable rusher on offense. He sat out hurt for the McCallie game, but it looks like he will back on the team in the near future. Malcom's presence will be very important for the Tigers if they want to go farther in the playoffs this season.

Q: Malcom, you were out for the McCallie game, when do you think you'll be back?

A: I think I should be back this Friday against Smyrna. If not, I will definitely be back for Brentwood Academy.

Q:Like many guys on this team, you are a two-way player. Do you like playing on both sides of the ball or do you strongly prefer one?

A:I prefer to play defense but playing offense has become more fun, so going both sides has been a good opportunity.

Q:What do you think the defense can improve on this season?

A:Making more big plays and really shutting teams down from scoring. If we can do that, we will be a dominant defense.


Q:At linebacker you play alongside Myers Beaird and Nantambu Fentress. How big a part of the defense are they?


A:They are a very big part of the defense. They are both versatile and hard working and they make my job a lot easier to know they will make big plays.
Q:At full back do you like fighting for the "tough yards"?

A:Of course. Its always fun to fight inside against those big lineman and linebackers for that extra yardage.

Q:What will Ensworth have to do to beat Smyrna?

A:Be solid on defense and keep our assignments and make running and passing lanes for Cody and Orleans to have a good game.

Tigers Beat Tornadoes 28-13

With two undefeateds going head to head, one would think that a close game would be expected, but the buzz coming into this game did not reflect that. However, this game was not decided until the 4th quarter.

From the appearance of the Tigers’ first drive, it would appear that they would have this one in hand by halftime. The drive was kept alive on 3rd down when Cody Tollison found Corey Sacks on a desperation pass that just happened to find its target 34 yards downfield. Orleans Darkwa, who finished the game with 254 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, took one in from 4 yards out to put the Tigers ahead 7-0. On the Tornadoes’ first drive, they went 3 and out. It looked like all was going well for the Tigers until Orleans Darkwa suffered a shoulder injury and had to come out for 2 series in the 1st quarter.

After the Tigers’ second touchdown, which came from Rodney Anderson when he scored from 10 yards out towards the end of the 1st quarter, the Tornadoes gained wind. Trent Lusk and T.J. Kemp marched the ball down the field and scored on a 15 yard screen pass to John Burkus to cut the Tigers’ lead in half in the second quarter.

Late in the 2nd quarter, the Tigers forced a McCallie punt after a 3 and out from their own 12 yard line, giving Ensworth good field position at the McCallie 44. The Tigers drove the ball all the way to the 8 yard line to set up a 25-yard field goal from Clayton McGlasson. The Tigers didn’t end up capitalizing on the drive, however, since the field goal was pushed wide right. The Tigers only led 14-7 at the half.

Fortunately for the Tigers, the scoring picked up in the 3rd quarter when Nantambu Fentress gave them a short field following an outstanding diving interception. Ensworth drove the ball 36 yards to set up a 4 yard touchdown pass from Cody Tollison to Corey Sacks. Before his touchdown, Sacks had dropped 2 would-be touchdown grabs, but he redeemed himself when he put the Tigers up 21-7 in the 3rd quarter.

McCallie answered back at the beginning of the 4th quarter on their next drive when they got the ball at the Ensworth 39 yard line after Darkwa’s fumble. Trent Lusk hooked up with Keenan Hale for a 10 yard score wide open across the middle. Hudson Brock missed the extra point attempt wide right, which kept the score at 21-13.

Orleans Darkwa led the next Ensworth drive, which culminated in a 27 yard touchdown run on 4th down, widening the gap to 28-13.

With 4:54 left to go, the Tornadoes drove the ball down to the Ensworth 16 yard line before turning the ball over on downs, which ultimately sealed the victory for the Tigers. The final score was 28-13.

Orleans Darkwa broke the school record for career touchdowns with his second of the night, which put him at 49 for his career, 1 ahead of Tavarres Jefferson. The Tigers will take on the Smyrna Bulldogs at Smyrna next Friday.

Ensworth @ McCallie Preview

Sorry guys; I've been sick all week with make-up work to do. We will finish the 11 in 11 series next week.

Last year this was a close one, but this time the Tigers want this one to be over before halftime.

Last year when the Tigers traveled to McCallie the game went to two overtimes and the score did not become final until the tying extra point was missed by the Tornadoes.

McCallie (4-0) has yet to play a top tier opponent but is there any better opportunity to show the state what they're really made of by beating Ensworth (2-0)?

Ensworth had an open week this past week since Tuscola (NC) canceled their game with the Tigers due to economic reasons. The Tigers have been preparing for this game for about two weeks now.

The keys to this game will be for Ensworth to run and for McCallie to stop it.

Orleans Darkwa may be the best running back in the state after coming off a 341 yard and 5 TD game against MBA.

McCallie isn't so bad themselves, putting up an average of 237.5 yards a game. However, dual threat quarterback Keenon Rush, who gave Ensworth fits last year, is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Stepping up will be senior T.J. Kemp, who will be attending UNC on a lacrosse scholarship. Kemp is averaging 83.2 yards a game on the ground.

Quaterbacking for McCallie will be Trent Lusk, who is averaging less than 100 yards passing but has thrown two touchdowns.

My Take

Ensworth takes it on the ground and will run over the Big Blue 54-21.

11 in 11 Part 8: Myers Beaird

Senior linebacker Myers Beaird will be one of the key players on defense this season. He led the team in tackles last year and he seems to be on pace for that to happen again this season. He had a game-sealing pick 6 against Father Ryan last year to put the Tigers up for good. Can he make he make those same plays this year to help give Ensworth a shot at the state title?

Myers, what are some goals you and the defense have set for this year?

Our goals as a defense are to be the most physical and dominating defense in the state.

Have you received interest from any colleges yet?

I've gotten letters and been in contact with some Ivy League schools and some smaller schools up North.

Have you considered playing safety in college because of your size?

I can see that being a possibility, but I am up for playing whatever they want me to. I need to make it to the next level before I worry about what position I will play.

Do you like being a two-way player?

I love being a two-way player. It's great to be on the field the whole game and help the offense and defense get the job done. You just have to make sure you're well conditioned.

Would you consider our linebacking core as the hardest hitting in the state?

Our defense as a whole and especially our linebackers take pride in punishing the opposing team. Coach Ski and our other defensive coaches have done a great job instilling that mindset in us.

Which of our remaining games do you think will be the toughest to come out on top?

It's impossible to say. Division II is the toughest division of football in the state because every team has talent and great coaches; any of the teams we play can beat us if we don't do our job. We also play Smyrna who is a powerhouse in Division I 6A. We are just taking the season one game at a time. Right now it's McCallie.

No Way!

For the first time ever the Ensworth football team is ranked in the top 25 in the program's third year of DII-AA by Maxpreps.com. But, are we that good? No. The Freeman rankings are pretty much the BCS rankings of high school football; it's all numbers. In a separate poll, Maxpreps Xcellent 25, which is like the AP poll of high school football because it adds the human element of the ranking process, Ensworth is nowhere to be found in the Xcellent 25, and that does not surprise me one bit.

As a football team I say we are one of the elite in the state, but in the country? If you look at the Xcellent 25 ranked number 1, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, they have 18 D1 prospects on their team. That would be like having everyone with say Orleans Darkwa's or Sam Cooper's potential all the way down the depth chart until it reaches Miles Karro... just kidding Miles! In all seriousness you're probably at about 35th, but that's OK. There will be seniors leaving next year, that's how football works. Anyhow, they're good.

Ranked 2nd is Byrnes High School in Duncan, SC. If that name sounds familiar you probably saw them play MBA in the Clinic Bowl at Vanderbilt Stadium before the inception of EHS. If you think we whipped MBA, you have to go back and watch this one. MBA was down nearly 50 points in the 3rd quarter.

Ranked 16th is Don Bosco Prep. The New Jersey prep school is pretty much the Oak Hill Academy of football. Enough said.

Personally I don't think Ensworth stands a chance against any of these schools.

Also, another school that is nowhere to be found in the X25 is Memphis University School (MUS). Again, if you think ending MBA's 15 game home winning streak was impressive, MUS just beat South Panola (MS) at home; it was South Panola's first home loss since 2001. In the Freeman rankings MUS is ranked as the 9th best team in the country.

It will be interesting to see if MUS and EHS can meet up in Cookeville for the game of the year. Many are already saying on the Coacht.com message boards to go ahead and cancel the rest of the season so that the teams are still healthy for the title game. We'll see what happens in December.

Link to rankings

11 in 11 Part 7: Antonio Richardson

Antonio Richardson stands at approximately 6-6 300lbs, yet he seems to have an even larger impact on this Tiger team. Last year Antonio transferred from Mt. Pleasant, TN to become a Tiger; however, he still had eligibility issues and was unavailable for the entire 2008 season. So far, Antonio has been a force. He helped neutralize University of Kentucky commit DL Tim McAdoo to lead Ensworth over Oakland 22-20 in overtime. This week he opened up massive lanes (well... more like highways) for Orleans Darkwa to run through as he picked up 341 rushing yards and scored 5 touchdowns against the Big Red. He is looked upon as the state's number one prospect for the class of 2011. Can Antonio lead the way for the Tigers to their first ever Division II football state title?

Antonio, congratulations on the MBA win. What does that mean to you and the rest of the team?

The win means a lot to us as a team because of the fact that they are our rival, and they do not respect us. I believe that we made a statement to them. The win means a lot to me even though I did not have my best game, because MBA made some very crazy statements about me, so the fact that we beat them felt good.

How hard was it to sit out all of last year with eligibility issues? Were there any positives to taking a year off?

Last year it was hard for me to sit out. I love the game of football, and I want to take it as far as I can, so it was very hard watching my teammates play. On the positive side, it made me a better teammate. I had to be the hype man for the team last year and some what of a water boy, but I enjoyed helping my teammates get better in practice and helping any way that I could. It also gave me time to get stronger, faster, and be devoted to my academics, which are always first.

If you had the choice to go college on a football scholarship anywhere you wanted, where would you go and why?

Right now I have like 20 plus colleges who have sent me letters letting me know that they are giving me looks. I have some that I like, but right now I prefer not to say which ones I like. But I really like the SEC. That is where I want to play, mostly because almost everybody in the SEC is giving me looks, and there are like 4 that I really like.

Which do you like playing more, offense or defense? Which would you rather play in college?

I love playing defense way more than offense. I would rather play defense in college.

As a defensive lineman, are you more comfortable stuffing the run or getting in the backfield?

I am comfortable stuffing the run and getting in the backfield. I can do either one. It's just a thing of being in good condition. Playing both sides of the ball with not much rest can be tiring at times.

On offense, are you a better run or pass blocker?

On offense, I'm good at both, but I don't think I'm as good on offense as I am on defense. It might just be the fact that I love defense more.

What game are you most looking forward to during the remainder of this season?

Now that we have gotten past Oakland and MBA, the game I believe I am looking forward to is Brentwood Academy. It will be a physical game.

Around The Web 9/7/09

No Doubt Who's #1

Ensworth Ends MBA's Home Win Streak

My Summary on Rivals