The roar of a crowd is a familiar sound to Nicky Frizen as he hurls the ball down the field into a receiver’s open hands. But it was all a new experience this time a year ago. Returning as Bearden’s senior quarterback this year, Frizen’s experience and abilities have improved dramatically since his career opened in a 32-0 loss to Hardin Valley that opened the 2011 season. He gets his chance for revenge Friday night when the Bulldogs host the Hawks at 7:30 p.m. (TV: tssaanetwork.com/bearden). “He started off a little sluggish at the beginning of the year, but going through the season he gained so much experience and was a completely different quarterback by the end of the year,” said senior captain Ethan Pollack, who is returning as one of Frizen’s top downfield targets. Frizen, also a captain this year, has been practicing during the off-season not just with the team, but on his own to improve himself and to be able to carry this team further. He hopes that some changes in mechanics can help add a few more dimensions to the Bulldog offense. “I changed my throwing motion and have been going to an individual quarterback coach and have been working on that,” Frizen said. “Last year, I wasn’t able to throw the ball as accurately as I would like to because of my throwing motion.” This senior class has connected on and off the field to build great chemistry and experience playing together during the past four years in large part to Frizen’s leadership and unquestioned work ethic. “It’s not hard to have good chemistry with Nicky, just because you know how hard he works, what a good guy he is and how positive he is,” Coach Brad Taylor said. “There is no one, not just on our offensive line,but on the whole team, that doesn’t work well with Nicky.” With Frizen’s experience and connection with other player son and off the field, he is expected by coaches to lead this Bearden team far into the season. Frizen also has his choice of weapons to throw to with most of the Bulldogs’ big-play threats returning from a year ago. “We are a talented bunch, and we have a lot of potential,”Coach Taylor said. “A big key for us is being smart, playing smart football,and playing as a unit together. If we do that well, we should have a successful year.” Frizen himself also has high expectations for this team as the season progresses, especially into the post-season. “We’re going to go as far as we want to,” Frizen said. “We will be our own worst enemy if we choose to be, but if not, I think we can make it pretty far this season.” Brooke Williams is a staff writer for The Bark. Follow The Bark on [email protected] and like The Bark (Bearden High School) on Facebook.