Fresh off its first win of the season, Cutter Morning Star is looking to keep its momentum going into this week's home game against the Cedar Ridge Timberwolves.
The Eagles (1-3, 1-2 South) were able to put everything together last week to take a 46-14 win over Hermitage on the road. Prior to their bye week, CMS lost a close match, 20-14, to a Spring Hill team that finished as the runner-up to the state champion last season.
Head coach Matt Kinsinger said that the coaching staff feels good going into this game.
"We're just continuing to build off the momentum we've gained the past few weeks," he said.
The Timberwolves (1-4, 1-1 North) seem to be on a similar track to the one the Eagles are traveling, Kinsinger said.
"I think they're pretty close to us in the sense that they're (starting) off a little bit slow but they're getting better every week," he said. "They played some tough teams. You know, they played ... Brinkley this past week in our conference, and Brinkley's really good team. I think coach up there has done a good job. It looks like the numbers have increased, you know, his participation numbers, and seems to be pretty evenly matched on paper."
Kinsinger said the Timberwolves are trying to establish a physical run game, using some of their size up front.
"They like to line up in two tight (end sets) and run a lot I formation stuff," he said. "It appears that they're trying to be, they're establishing a physical run game, so they've got pretty big fullback that powers up in there. They've run some dive option looks out of that. So they've got some big kids up front that they do pretty good job coming off the ball."
While the Eagles do not have a ton of depth on their line, Kinsinger is confident in the play of his offensive line.
"I'll match my front guys versus just about anybody, you know," he said. "I think -- size or not size -- I think we've got a really good, good line, and we do have some size, you know, just not a lot of depth. We'll put it that way, but those guys have done a good job, and we've we've tried to keep them fresh by rotating some other folks in on defense. So they're fresh on offense, and that helps out. But I think, you know, I think we're pretty evenly matched on a lot of areas there."
The Timberwolves tend to set up with a three-man front on defense in what Kinsinger said is similar to a Cover Three look.
"They play a three front, like a three-two," he said. "You know, they seem like they run a nose and two threes and then they'll have to backers in the box and then they let their secondary guys -- their corners and their safety. A little bit different than 11 man on that, but, you know, I just call it a three-two because that's their personnel -- three big guys up front. They take care of the middle of the field pretty good. You know, they've got, they've got the box stacked, so you know the corners are out there to pick up anything that bounces outside."
Cedar Ridge has several playmakers on the team including a solid quarterback and a fullback that is a downhill runner.
"Their quarterback is pretty handy," Kinsinger said. "You know, if we don't contain him on passing downs, he can get outside of the pocket, and he can go pretty good. Their fullback, like I said, he's a big kid. He's hard to tackle, and so he'll be a challenge. You know, when he's running that dive downhill, we're gonna have to pretty strong on our tackling because he runs through arm tackles pretty good. And then they run the option out of that, so, you know, the quarterback's pretty handy, and the running back can move a little bit. So, you know, we have to be very disciplined in our option defense and be able to tackle those guys in space."
Kinsinger said that the Eagles are in fairly good shape going into the week. They have a running back who may be out, but he is confident in his players.
"I think we're going to be fine," he said. "You know, we may be without our starting running back again. And so that's going to be a little bit challenging, so someone's gonna have to step in there on that role and step up. I mean last week he put up 210 yards, four touchdowns and ran super hard, so, you know, his stuff's day-to-day, so we've been getting other people ready to play in that spot. So, yeah, but other than that we should be pretty solid."
Kickoff at Eagle Field is set for 7 p.m.