Suddenly Saturday- Bishop McGuinness vs North Surry

On a night when Mother Nature dropped numerous hints that Fall was imminent, the North Surry Greyhounds dispatched previously unbeaten Bishop McGuinness 38-22 to improve to 4-0 on the season.  Led by junior tailback Blaze Acord (25 rushes for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns), the Greyhounds staked an early 17-0 league before the Villains began shaking off the initial shock provided by the North Surry offensive line.

Senior fullback Shawn Dehart augmented the Greyhound offensive attack, rushing for 45 yards on 6 carries and hauling in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Austin Handy in the second quarter.  Additionally, the North Surry defense demonstrated a cohesive and consistent physical attack that helped keep the Bishop offense off balance for much of the night.  Not to be overlooked is the impressive leg of Greyhound placekicker Carlos Flores, who booted a 31-yard field goal in the first half that would have been good from 40.

Following the game I had the opportunity to speak with both Acord and Dehart.  The messages from both were similar, which should make future opponents wary of the Greyhounds.  Said Acord, "I thought we did pretty good, we couldn't do anything without our linemen. They make the holes pretty big and easy to run through."  Shawn Dehart echoed his teammate when asked about the offensive line. "They are the offense.  Without them we couldn't do anything."

My take:  
This game was a warning shot across the bow to North Surry's future conference opponents.  On paper, it looks like all you have to do is stop one guy (Acord) and victory can be had.  In truth, you can't get to that guy without getting through the Greyhound offensive line- good luck with that.  When they needed one yard, they got eight.  On obvious passing downs, they ran power left and right.  Additionally, if you get a bead on Blaze Acord, the offense will just look to Shawn Dehart both on the ground and through the air.

Obviously, there was a discrepancy in size and sheer numbers last night against McGuinness.  Most of Bishop's roster plays both ways, and make up for their lack of size with sheer will and fight (the Villains never gave up, and fought like crazy to get back in the game. I won't forget that any time soon.).  Also, McGuinness were down a man as a result of losing RB/LB Greg Salomon during the course of the game.

I look forward to seeing this North Surry team when it matches up with a squad that is similar in size and athleticism.  My guess is that the Greyhound offensive line with equally problematic no matter who they face.