Fresh off a Week 1 victory, the Stone Memorial Panthers hit the road for Chattanooga as they face East Ridge in non-region football action Friday at 6:30 CDT.
“It’s nice to go down there 1-0 with a win under our belt,” said SMHS head coach Derik Samber. “The message to the kids this week is we can’t rest on just taking care of the first one; we’ve got to build off it as well.”
Stone Memorial defeated East Ridge 47-21 last season, though Samber doesn’t see that as a factor.
“If that mattered, then we would’ve never beat Lenoir City,” he said. “East Ridge is a much-improved team, and I think kids sometimes get caught up scoreboard watching nowadays. They’re much improved from last year and had a competitive game with a good Silverdale team in Week 1.”
East Ridge, who competes in Region 3-4A, fell 42-17 last week to Silverdale Academy.
“They run a wing-T on offense and really fly around and are super athletic,” Samber said. “On defense, they’re in a 3-3 Stack. That’s different from what we saw in week one, so that and their athleticism pose a challenge.”
Stone Memorial quarterback Hunter Heavilon posted an impressive Week 1, going 19-24 for 247 yards and two passing touchdowns along with 114 rushing yards and a score.
Receiver Bear Eldridge had a career day at receiver with seven receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter.
The Panthers’ offensive success wouldn’t have been possible without strong line play.
“The line of scrimmage is huge,” Samber said. “Austin Munsey had our best game on the O-line. Jack Delk stepped up at left tackle and Cody Parker at center.
“We’re going to ask a lot of those guys on the defensive line, too: Cody Melton and Deacon Disney especially,” he added. “Cole Dayton and Jordan Collins as our defensive ends played really well against Lenoir City, and we need that again this week.”
Stone Memorial won their last trip to East Ridge, a 21-7 victory in 2018 in Samber’s first game as head coach of the Panthers.
“It’s a nostalgia tour with us beating Lenoir City, and East Ridge was my first game with Stone,” Samber said.
Despite a 30-14 Week 1 victory over Lenoir City by SMHS, the Panthers have room for improvement.
“We had three turnovers,” Samber said. “First drive of the game we get down there and fumble, then another pick in the end zone later. We feel like we left some points on the board.
“Defensively, it’s hard to complain too much when you give up 0 points with the starting group,” he added. “But we did miss some tackles and pad level got too high a few times up front. Definitely some things to improve on and we don’t feel like we played our best football.”
Samber’s keys to a victory Friday are simple.
“We need to play our game,” he said. “It’s a long trip, and I’m always thinking about travel. We need to get off the bus ready to play. We have to be focused.”
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