Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Thomas Clay And Jeremy Alexander Show Their Cardinal Colors
LINCOLN — Football coach Brad Harris liked what he saw on Friday during the Meet the Wolves scrimmage held at the old high school field.
“I like it cause we had some balance,” Harris said. “You don’t want to see your defense completely dominate and you don’t want to see your offense just move up and down the field.”
Last season the Wolves were so short on quarterbacks that Drew Harris (6-0, 165 pounds), did double duty quarterbacking both varsity and junior varsity games.
“He was a little timid as a sophomore. This year he’s stepping into a leadership role and throwing the ball with a lot more confidence. Our guys are responding to that,” Brad Harris said.
Making an 80-yard touchdown reception was Alec Pitts, who Drew Harris hit in stride near midfield. Pitts gathered in the ball and raced down the right sideline for the score untouched.
Foreign exchange student Emilio Marrufo made good on all five extra- point kicks. Marrufo has kicked 47-yard field goals in practice and gives Lincoln an option to go for a field goal and booted a 37-yarder in the scrimmage.
“He had never kicked a football in his life until two weeks ago Thursday,” Harris said. “It’s amazing what two weeks has done for him. He’s really going to make a difference for us this year in extrapoints, field goals and kickoffs.”
Senior Brandon Crews stuffed some running plays from his defensive end slot and Harris was pleased with the Wolves on that side of the ball. “I was excited to see the enthusiasm we played with from a defensive standpoint. It can be kind of frustrating for the offense when we play like that. I’m proud of how we executed with our first team defense.”
The defense created a turnover late in the scrimmage forcing a fumble on a running play. Senior linebacker Colton Barnum scooped the ball up and nearly returned it
for a score bulling over would-be tacklers before he was brought down at the 18.
Barnum will play fullback on offense this year and Harris said he has good hands and is tough to bring down. “The move is going to be a good one for us,” Harris said. “We’re hoping he steps into being a senior leader on our defense and keeps our guys going in the right direction.”
Four players didn’t participate in the scrimmage due to injuries including senior running back Tyler Cummings, who Harris held out as a precautionary measure.
“Right now, he’s still trying to get into football shape. He’s running real well and looked good this summer.”
The Wolves used Johnny Yang and Ryan Frazier as their running backs on Friday. “Johnny Yang does a real, good job. He’s real elusive and shorter in stature. He’s hard to find in there. He does a real, good job of reading the hole and picking his way through.” Brad Harris said sophomore running back Ryan Frazier had a really nice freshman year.
“He’s real quick, he has a good first step and sees the holes really well. I think he’s going to be able to give us some carries.”
This year Lincoln will use a tight end at times, a variance on their usual spread offense. Dakota Riggin is up to 200 pounds and has done a good job of picking up on the blocking schemes and has good hands. Lincoln opens their season at Westville, Okla., on Sept. 6.