Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Concludes First Week Of Practice
SCRIMMAGE CONCLUDES FIRST WEEK OF PRACTICE
FARMINGTON — Head coach Mike Adams and the Farmington football staff got their first look at the 2016 varsity in game-simulation with a Saturday morning scrimmage to conclude the first week of football practice.
There were soundbites aplenty as Adams and assistant coaches, Jay Harper, Steve Morgan, Tracy Sutton, Clint Scrivner, Spencer Adams and Si Hornbeck exhorted players to perform.
Senior Dylan Reeves picked one off and scored as a pair of defensive touchdowns were recorded on interception runbacks.
A blitz off the corner forced the offense to execute in the face of pressure and a running play netted a short gain that Morgan saw potentially could have yielded more yardage with better blocking.
“Hey, (let’s play) physical, that was a three-yard gain that should have been nine,” Morgan said.
Time and time again, the Cardinal defense rose to the occasion, stuffing a counter play and off-tackle runs.
When a quarterback misfired on a passing attempt, Adams wanted more accuracy on the throw.
“Throw them where we can catch them,” Adams said.
When a pass was completed near the sideline, a quick reaction by defensive backs didn’t allow any extra yards after the catch. Hard hits forced a pair of fumbles with Scrivner addressing the issue.
“You’re carrying the ball too high,” Scrivner said, explaining the running back’ s mistake. “That’s why you fumbled.”
Sophomore Seth Swain finally got the offense on the board by breaking off a run through the heart of the defense. The dash prompted Harper to encourage Swain to think about playing more than one sport.
“Obviously, you should be on our relay team in track,” Harper said with unabashed enthusiasm.
On the next series, a defensive back arrived late but was bailed out when a quick pass that would have been a touchdown was dropped.
“Hey, did we get an outside release?” Harper asked the linebackers and secondary.
Adams continued to test the defense by calling passing plays. A sprinting quarterback rolled out and saw a receiver open to the right. Adams mixed in a counter play to the left, drawing another good defensive reaction. Sutton applauded a solid stop.
“Hey, good tackle there,” Sutton said.
The offense then set up back-to-back wide receiver screens to the right. Morgan wasn’t hearing anybody talk on defense and let the players know.
“Did anybody here say screen?” Morgan asked. “Nobody said a word. It would help to communicate.”
A running back used a spin to make a decent gain and Harper saw good and bad from the defense on the right same play.
“Good job on the front side,” Harper said. “Not so good on the back side.”
Adams told the blockers he wanted them to pick up their assignments. They responded on the next play with senior Jake Oskey executing a fake handoff, then running for a touchdown.
A receiver isolated on a defensive back, hauled in a pass but again a sure tackle prevented any additional yards. Harper praised the stop recognizing the isolation.
“Good tackle, good job, that’s fine,” Harper said.
A running back was popped on a play with Adams hailing the defense.
“Good job by the middle linebackers, right there, both of you guys,” Adams said.
Quarterback Trey Waggle looked sharp at times, but missed a throw on a rollout. Adams encouraged him to perfect his throwing technique on the run.
“Trey, look at your shoulders, there,” Adams said.
Waggle then connected with Javon Jowers on a screen in the face of a trio of blitzers coming off the edge. The next pass from Waggle to Jowers was right on the money. Later, Trey Waggle threw complete to Trenton McChristian after the football traveled 30 yards in the air
Trey’s older brother Brice, who led the 2015 Cardinals to three wins in the 5A West and a tie for fourth place in the standings, was watching before leaving for Tahlequah, Okla., where he will play college football at Northeastern State University. When asked what he would say to the high school team, Brice Waggle said they should relish the experience.
“I’d say, enjoy every moment,” Brice Waggle said, adding, “It goes by a lot faster than you expect.”
Adams paid tribute to the defense when the scrimmage was over.
“I’m pleased with how we played defense,” Adams said. “The defense is obviously ahead of our offense. We broke off one pretty good pass play and our tailbacks broke a couple of long runs. Other than that they pretty much had their way with us.”