SOUTHSIDE MAVS OUTSHINE ALMA AIREDALES IN ‘TYPICAL’ SCRIMMAGE

It was a mixed bag of results for Alma and Southside in Monday night’s preseason scrimmage. The Mavericks, trying to rebound following last season’s hard 3-7 season, had plenty of good moments. And they had some bad ones, too. Junior linebacker Darin Davenport missed half of the 2016 with a torn ACL, and he might miss more time after leaving the field with another injury Monday night. The youthful Mavericks had their moments offensively. Quarterback Taye Gatewood made some nice throws and smart decisions with the ball. Running back Ricardo Savoy also looked good. “I thought offensively we had some explosive plays, and that’s something we’ve worked on,” Williams said. “This year, I think our speed’s better. We made some explosive plays, which we had a hard time doing last year.” Alma coach Doug Loughridge came away from Monday’s scrimmage eager to breakdown the video machine. “I thought it was a typical scrimmage,” Loughridge said. “It wasn’t like one team wanted to win. I thought we did a good job of getting everybody reps, putting some guys in situations to see what they can do.” Loughridge felt like his younger group of players had their moments. “I thought we had some sophomores step up today over varsity guys,” Loughridge said. “I think we had some varsity guys step down today. (But) that’s what these things are for. It’s a chance for us to go back to the drawing board and say, ‘All right, these are the 11 we want on offense, and these are the 11 we want on defense.’ “I was really, really proud of our JV (junior varsity), but I thought our varsity played flat.” A bad snap led to a Mavericks’ safety, and a fumble recovery and Gatewood touchdown pass led to another score for the Mavericks. Gatewood also threw a 53-yard touchdown pass. “I thought Ricardo and Taye had a good night, and that’s what you’re looking for,” Williams said. “I thought we had some other backup guys step up and make a play.” Williams and the Mavericks’ defensive coaches have placed a big emphasis on forcing turnovers this season. “We’ve been working really hard on getting turnovers,” he said. “I thought we ran around well; we tackled OK. The main thing on defense is you want effort on every play. You can be going the wrong way sometimes, but as long as you’re going a hundred miles an hour, that’s what we need, and I thought our guys showed that tonight.” Williams was also impressed with senior transfer Kale Barcheers’ effort. “He played a lot of defense tonight, and he played some running back,” Williams said. “He’s a great short-yardage running back. He can run for power and he also helped us on both sides of the ball. He’s been out a little bit, we just have to get him back in top shape. We feel like he’s going to be a great addition to our football team.” The Mavericks aren’t yet sold on a kicker. And there is much work to do before hosting Har-Ber on Sept. 1. “But that’s why you scrimmage, to get a better overall look at things,” Williams said.

SOUTHSIDE MAVS OUTSHINE ALMA AIREDALES IN ‘TYPICAL’ SCRIMMAGE

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 8/23/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Taylor