AREA SCHOOLS PREP FOR CAMP
Bucks, Trojans among schools scrimmaging to get ready for season
Six area football teams got together Tuesday night for two hours of 7-on-7 scrimmaging.
Central Bucks South, Central Bucks West, Bensalem, Council Rock North, New Hope-Solebury and Wissahickon faced off against each other in 20-minute sessions at Central Bucks High School South.
The evening featured everything you would expect during a scrimmage in mid-July. The quarterbacks were working on getting in rhythm with their receivers, the defenses were working on man-to-man and zone coverages and there was even a little bit of chippy play between schools as the two-hour session in the heat winded down.
Everyone was on the field for the same reason — looking to get better.
“The guys came out and they got better each time,” CB West coach Chas Cathers, who’s team completed its fourth and final scrimmage, said. “That’s what we’re looking for — we’re looking for constant improvement.
“We looked at the mistakes we’ve had in the previous 7-on-7s and just look to improve. We have a lot of guys, so we’re working to see who the guys are that
we think are going to be projected starters and that could change when we get the pads on, but it gives us a good idea of who knows the schemes and who can go out and execute. (The scrimmages) are helpful in that way. I’m not a big fan of 7-on-7s, they could develop some bad habits, but I thought our guys did well coming out here and executing what we needed to do.”
“We just want to get better each time,” Wissahickon coach Randy Cuthbert said. “We’re working on communication and making checks in the secondary and everyone getting it. We’re getting better, but it’s summer. This is when you make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. Offensively we’re getting to a point where we know the plays. We’re looking at people at different positions and we’re just looking at cross-training guys in a couple positions because we don’t know where they’re going to end up. Just learning the system.
“We’re making improvements. We had a long way to go. I think we’re making progress. We’ve had more guys in the weight room, our numbers are starting to go up. We’re just trying to make steps. We don’t know how big they are, but we just want to keep making steps forward. It’s hard to tell where we’re at without pads.”
The teams have a few weeks before official practices start in the second week of August. Some of the schools have more scrimmages planned during that time while others will practice for the rest of this week and then take time off before camp.
Play of the Day
The best play of the day came on the final snap for the Central Bucks West offense against the Central Bucks South defense. Junior quarterback Gavin Grondahl dropped back and lofted a pass to junior Ricardo Washington in the endzone. Washington out-jumped his defender, snatched the ball and maintained possession all the way to the ground for a 40-yard touchdown.
Washington started for the Bucks at strong safety last season. Grondahl transferred in from New Hope-Solebury and will be a part of a wide-open battle for the quarterback position that will be decided in camp.