The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NDCL, North happy with final gridiron tuneup
When North and NDCL got together a few weeks back for a joint practice, the Rangers and Lions had a benchmark to work from going forward.
When the teams got together Aug. 23 for the final scrimmage of the preseason, they got the look they wanted to see.
From the initial practice to the scrimmage, both coaches saw vast improvement.
NDCL and North played a half of game-simulation scrimmage at Nick Carter Stadium. North won on the scoreboard, 14-12, with the only difference being two missed conversion kicks by the Lions. But NDCL coach Andrew Mooney and North coach Shawn Dodd gave a thumbs up to their team’s final tuneup prior to the season opener next week.
NDCL opens the 2019 season at South, while North hosts North Olmsted.
“We kept a lid on it,” Dodd said of his team limiting the plays they ran in the scrimmage. “But I’m happy with how we played. I am happy with the way we moved the football. A little disappointed that we stalled out twice around the 30. But overall, I’m happy with the way we moved the football.”
North, with its massive size on the offensive line, plowed down the field on its opening drive to score on a four-yard keeper by quarterback Dylan Froelich.
The Rangers’ other touchdown came on a one-yard run by James Walker.
NDCL was efficient on offense as well.
After Froelich gave North the early lead, the Lions answered with an impressive drive of their own, capping it with a 35-yard touchdown run up the middle by senior Jack Robinson on a fourthdown play.
NDCL’s other score came on a nice corner fade from quarterback Jon Sharp to fleet-footed receiver Johnny Nguyen.
“We took a preseason mentality into this tonight,” Mooney said. “We usually play two hard quarters in this scrimmage, but with 22 seniors and so many guys with experience, we know what we’re capable of. We just wanted to make sure we didn’t have any rust on our game going into Week 1.”
The Lions don’t have rust, but they do have some nicks and bruises to deal with. Senior Jimmy Mitchell, a twoway starter at quarterback or receiver on offene while playing cornerback on defense, was on the sideline in street clothes. Senior receiver David Martin Kosier departed the scrimmage early with a laceration to his knee area.
Despite the absences, Mooney liked what he saw from his team.
“I told our coaches, we’re light years ahead of where we were a couple of weeks ago,” Mooney said of the joint practice with North. “We met the challenge.”
Part of the challenge, Mooney joked, was convincing Robinson he didn’t need to play all 24 minutes on both sides of the ball. Robinson only played one series on offense and ran the ball effectively. He didn’t play on defense, where he is one of the area’s top returning linebackers.
“He averages 200 yards a game. We know what he can do,” Mooney said. “We know he’s our anchor in the middle of the defense. He wanted to be out there. We let him do his thing for a series on offense. That’s all we needed to see from him.”
Defensively, Mooney liked his front seven’s ability to slow down North’s power run at times. He credited a deep defensive line rotation for keeping bodies fresh to make stops.
About the only downside for North was Froelich going down with a shin injury late in the second quarter. Dodd said Froelich was “fine,” but Froelich left the stadium on crutches.
“It’s just precautionary,” Dodd said. “We told him to stay off it. I think more than anything, it just rattled him. He’s never been hurt before.”