Northview football looking to rebuild and reload after losing valuable senior class
Northview football found itself in a tied game with 23 seconds left at Bozeman in the Region 1-1R semifinals.
The Bucks, at the time undefeated, were the top seed in Region 1, ultimately falling in the state semifinals. And the Chiefs were on the brink of an upset, the fifth seed in the region. Northview drew up a 4th-and-3 conversion play, hoping it led to a game-winning field goal.
The feeling? Heartbreak.
“We’ve just got to come back out here, make the playoffs and get further in,” Simmons said after a recent spring practice.
“We think about the loss all the time. … But we don’t need to talk about it,” Moses Delarosa said. “It’s a chip on our shoulders.”
Now in 2024, with a young roster, Northview is looking to still reload and rebuild from its deep run in the 2022 playoffs, where the Chiefs fell in the state championship to Hawthorne. Northview is coming off a 4-7 2023 season.
“You’ve just got to reload. That’s always the goal. Anything we can do to get back to state – and that’s the message we’ve been preaching to the kids. It’s time to reset and refocus to get us there, and work our butts off,” Northview head coach Wes Summerford said. “Starting this month, we’re working our butts off and it doesn’t stop until December to see where we end up.”
Northview looking for ‘next-man-up mentality’ to fill holes
With the young roster, Summerford noted it adds “a whole new level to figuring out the depth chart,” especially with some of the players the Chiefs lost to graduation.
Northview lost Wyatt Scruggs, who was essentially a Swiss army knife for Northview. He was utilized at quarterback, throwing for 295 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 501 yards and seven touchdowns. He tallied 187 yards receiving with a touchdown. And defensively, he ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 69 (47 solo, 22 assisted) and two interceptions.
Also offensively, Joe Wright led the team with 1,303 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns – a year after being part of the Chiefs’ offensive line. He also hauled in a few receptions while posting 74 tackles and an interception. Devin Kelly, also used at running back, ran for 661 yards and nine touchdowns adding 27 tackles on defense. He also caught 12 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
“You just hope those younger guys that are here now have watched a guy like Wyatt for four years. That’s the main thing,” Summerford said. “It comes down to how much those young guys can take from what Wyatt and the rest of those seniors left behind.”
“It’s just a next-man up mentality,” Simmons added. “You’ve got to go up there and give it 110% percent.”
“I don’t think they want to be the next Wyatt. They just want to be the next up,” senior Moses Delarosa said. “Be the best they can be. You don’t have to be that guy all the time. You just have to be consistent and be yourself.”
Delarosa is returning for his fourth season as a starter, something Summerford highlighted. Delarosa led the Chiefs on defense with 104 tackles (60 solo, 44 assisted) with a caused fumble and a recovery.
He, and the rest of the senior class, are taking it upon themselves to set a standard for Northview as it continues to rebuild. That starts with the Chiefs’ spring game against Central on Friday, a rare opportunity for Northview given its success with other spring sports.
“It’s awesome we get to play in a spring game this year,” Summerford said.
“The game allows us to see where we’re at,” Sam Reid said. “After the spring game, we can see what we need to do.”
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Northview football looking to restock, continue rebuild after 2022 run
