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The Morristown East football team faces a tall task this week in their matchup with Jefferson County.

The Patriots have outrushed their opponents 850-141 over their past three games, and the ‘Canes have given up an average of 245 rushing yards per game on the season.

“We’ve got to make sure that, A: We’re lined up right and B: We tackle the ball carrier to give ourselves a chance. We’ve got to be aggressive, we’ve got to want it,” East head coach Dallas Kuykendall said. “Their backs are really good, their front is really good, so we’ve got to be technique sound and gap sound to make sure we’re putting ourselves in a good position. Then we have to rally tackle. A lot of these guys aren’t going to go down from one guy, so we’ve got to get to the football full force, and take him down once we get there.”

Tackling has been an issue for the ‘Canes in weeks past, and this week it’s important as ever. Jeff County has three backs in Omarion Mills, Shawn Jackson and Skylar Thomas that won’t go down to arm tackles. It’s going to take a host of East defenders rallying to the football.

“It’s something we work everyday in practice, and maybe we need to change those drills up and do it some other way, because we’ve got to be better tacklers in the game this week,” Kuykendall said. “Last week it felt like we just fell off too many tackles, we’re not finishing with our feet. That’s something we talked about in spring, so we’ve got to go back to that and get better at that and hopefully it shows up on Friday night.”

The Patriots hang their hat on their physicality. Following a win against Sevier County in which they rushed for 424 yards and held the Smoky Bears to 48, head coach Spencer Riley was quoted as saying his team “still played a little soft.”

If East hopes to match that intensity, they’re going to need to set the tone early.

“They’re going to be physical, there’s no secret about it. Coach Riley does a great job with his club, so they’re going to be physical and it’s our job to match that intensity. It’s our job to come out there with that same level of physicality and turn this thing into a dog fight.”

Perhaps the most crucial component to setting the tone is linebacker Trevor Foulks.

“Playing linebacker, he’s (Foulks) got to set the tone. Him and Jay (Harrison) there in the middle have got to set the tone with the physicality. They’ve got to be physical, they’ve got to get off blocks, they’ve got to pursue the football. That’s the key, and it starts with him.”

The biggest difference between East’s performance at William Blount and the games prior was the turnover battle. Their only offensive turnover against the Govs came on a fourth down throw down the field that was effectively a punt in the end.

Against a talented team like Jeff County, dictating the turnover battle is paramount.

“It goes back to being on the field, if we turn the ball over that’s more time our offense is off the field and more time our defense is out there trying to slow their attack, so the turnover battle is vitally important,” Kuykendall said. “We’ve got to be ripping at the football, when they do throw the football we’ve got to try and make a play on it. Anything we can do to swing that momentum our way.”

The special teams game is also worthy of attention this week. While the ‘Canes were more clean in that phase of the game against WB, they still allowed a number of kickoffs to be returned over midfield, making the defense’s job that much harder.

The defense faces a tall task this week no matter how short the field, so East can’t afford to allow that kind of yardage in the kicking game.

“We keep shuffling the deck there, kinda trying to find the perfect fit for kickoff and punt,” Kuykendall said. “Punt did really well last week; kickoff not so much, so back to the drawing board there. It takes a certain kid to be able to run down on kickoff and do their job, we’re still hunting those 11 down, so hopefully we find the pieces to that job. Coach Little does a great job, he’s a tireless worker, he takes pride in special teams, I have full confidence in coach Little and what he does for us on that side of the ball.”

On the offensive side, it’s going to be a big week for Caleb Billings. As previously mentioned, the Patriots front-seven doesn’t give up much ground in the running game.

Billings will face a lot of pressure on his drop backs, and to be successful he’ll have to make plays under that duress.

Billings turned in his best performance against WB, he’ll have to continue that upward trajectory to give the ‘Canes a chance this week.

“He’s got to manage the football game. Not do anything outside of himself, but we’ve got to move the chains,” Kuykendall said. “I think our best defense this week is staying on the field, and getting first downs. The longer we keep that rushing attack off the field, the better off we are, but in order to do that you have to sustain drives, you’ve got to make the easy throws, you’ve got to make big plays in big spots. I trust Caleb to do that, we’ve just got to go out and execute on Friday night.”

Kickoff is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m., at Burke-Toney stadium.