As a sophomore quarterback two years ago, Morrilton’s Tucker Granberry was thrown into the fire.
In a 2018 preseason scrimmage, Jacolby Criswell, one of the country’s most highly recruited quarterbacks now vying for the backup role at North Carolina, went down with a knee injury. His backup, Dylan White, broke his foot in the first half of the season opener.
Before the first game was over, Morrilton was down to its No. 3 quarterback — Granberry, who filled in until Criswell returned.
But the 2020 Devil Dogs are all Granberry’s.
“He’s a winner,” Morrilton coach Cody McNabb said. “He’s not going to be the passer we’ve had, but he’s a football player. He’s going to start at quarterback and inside linebacker. He’s just a football guy. He’ll do a lot of good things for us.”
Since a 12-win state-championship run in 2013, the Devil Dogs have won 40 games, including eight-win seasons the past three years, including a conference title in 2017. McNabb has made them contenders every year in the always-tough 5A-West.
In 2020, Morrilton is picked to finish fourth in the West, according to a statewide publication’s preseason poll of league coaches. Harrison is favored, followed by Vilonia and Greenbrier. Alma is fifth, followed by Farmington, Pea Ridge and Clarksville.
“We’re not at the level we were — losing in the [state semifinals] to the eventual state champions two years in a row — by any means,” McNabb said. “For a couple of years, we were going to be in the mix to be in the semifinals.
“But we’ve been in the playoffs for eight out of 10 years. We’ve been to the semifinals three times; we’ve won a state championship. These kids — that’s their expectation, and we’re gong to do everything we can to live up to that.”
He said the Devil Dog seniors were one of the more solid classes he’d had in his
10 seasons atop the program.
“Our issue is depth below them,” McNabb said. “Not having a pure quarterback is going to be different. We’ve got a great player at quarterback, just not a pure quarterback.”
The offensive line will be a strength for the Devil Dogs this fall, the coach said.
“All of those guys started at some point last season,” McNabb said. “That’s the most experience we have back on the football team.”
Senior Haden Scroggins (6-0, 260) will be a three-year starter at center. Sophomore Noah Tindall (6-1, 265) and junior Dawson Granberry (6-0, 300) will man the guard positions, and senior Ty Gray (6-4, 265) and sophomore Kajalan Black (6-1, 255) are set for the tackles. Senior Hayden Garrett (6-2, 290) will fit into the rotation, as some linemen will go on defense as well. Senior Seth Stephens (6-3, 300) should be in the mix if he can overcome a knee injury.
Other Devil Dogs to watch include senior Reggie Toney (5-10, 170), “a dynamite receiver,” McNabb said. Senior Jackson Moll (6-1, 185) has had two season-ending injuries, but the coach called him “a great running back,” despite his durability issues. Senior receiver Quincy Clemons (5-5, 120) “is really hard to tackle.”
“We’ve got to find creative ways to get all those guys touches,” McNabb said.
Morrilton rallied from a 3-3 start last season to finish 8-5, reaching the semifinals of the Class 5A state playoffs before falling to eventual champion Pulaski Academy.
“We had some injuries in the conference season, but we got healthy and made a good run in the playoffs,” McNabb said.
The Devil Dogs opened with a 44-42 loss at Searcy but rebounded with wins over Russellville, 33-17, and at Little Rock Fair, 37-8, to finish the nonconference schedule. They opened 5A-West play with a 39-34 loss at Harrison and beat Greenbrier, 28-20, but lost at Alma, 29-28.
From there, though, they beat Huntsville, 45-6; lost at Vilonia, 47-33; and finished the regular season with wins over Farmington, 56-28, and Clarksville, 42-22, to secure a tie for third in the conference.
They took the league’s fourth seed into the postseason, winning at Valley View (No. 1 from the East) in the opening round, 37-27, and at Texarkana
(No. 2 from the South) in the quarterfinals, 45-14, before coming up short against Pulaski Academy (No. 2 from the Central) in the semis, 68-41.
The Bruins went on to win their eighth state title since 2003, avenging back-to-back losses, including the 2018 state-title game, to Little Rock Christian.