Smackover set to take on Lafayette County

As the curtain to the regular season draws closer to opening, Smackover will get an up-close look at how their camp work has gone to date, as the Bucks welcome Lafayette County for a scrimmage tonight.

The events begin at 6 p.m. with the junior high scrimmage and the varsity is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

“I just want to see us get some reps against someone other than ourselves,” Smackover coach David Osborn said.

“I think our kids are really looking forward to that.

“Overall, my goals are to see where we stand conditioning-wise and at a few key positions. We will have a few battles going on both sides of the ball that may be worked out tomorrow.

“We have to continue to develop depth and rotations on both the offensive and defensive fronts.”

Osborn said the scrimmage will be set up with three quarters and played like a regular game with a lenient play clock.

He added that all special teams will be no contact.

Heading into tonight's scrimmage, Osborn said he has been pleased with how practices have gone despite the Bucks fighting low numbers.

“We have had some good practices this summer,” Osborn said.

“It's been a little different with smaller numbers (around 20 players), but the practices have been very upbeat and the kids have worked really hard.

“We are a very young team with only five seniors, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how some of these young guys play.

“We have a lot of question marks in areas that we need to fill in and this will be a great opportunity to do just that.”

Osborn said several players have stood out during August practices, particularly up front.

“I have been very impressed with our young guys, especially on the front,” Osborn said.

“Juan Ellingson, Regan Barton, Daniel Valdez, Kenny Benson, Ty Jones and Chris Lawrence have looked good at their positions.

“I am looking forward to seeing them go against someone else and just see where we really are at.

“We know that in our conference, it is a sharp learning curve with the quality teams that we see weekly.

“Of course the skill guys D'Kylan Hildreth, Trace Davis, Jarius Burgie, Tanner Mitchell and Daylon Curley are just a few that have been impressive.”