Observations from Scrimmage #2

The Wildcats held their 2nd scrimmage of the spring yesterday. In my first spring football dispatch, I touched on the quarterback battle and the three main candidates for the job and a few kids who might have turned some heads with their performance in the first scrimmage on Wednesday. In this post, I'll be focusing on some new faces, and a few familiar ones. This post will also be a little shorter; I've got a busy weekend ahead.

The JV scrimmage was much more evenly matched this time around as the offense got 4 scores, including one on a option keeper in which junior (to-be) QB Sean Despres scampered to the endzone virtually untouched. After that clunker on Wednesday, the JV offense looked much improved. Defensively, Tyvon Alexander, a junior safety, had 2 interceptions.

Jared Taylor was a standout in Friday's proceedings as he took this Bryson Powers pass, shook Kason Franklin, and burned the defense for a touchdown. He also lined up at cornerback and intercepted a pass; the starting receivers are also getting reps in the secondary. Entering his 3rd season as a varsity player, Jared is someone who will definitely be counted on to provide leadership. He'll also be a valuable target for whoever starts at quarterback next season.  

Now, one series later, Jared was on the receiving end of this jarring hit from Myles Wilson. He performed well as a sophomore thrown into the fire of varsity football, but with one season under his belt, I expect Myles to make a significant leap forward performance-wise and emerge as a leader on the defense. In the first two scrimmages, he has looked more poised in the secondary and a little more confident in his tackling. 

A couple of returning players in the front 7, Keith Watson and Caleb Smith, were in the backfield for a good portion of the scrimmage. Especially Keith, who was virtually unblockable in the pass rush. With his excellent speed and unrelenting tenacity from the outside linebacker spot, he has the potential to emerge as a significant problem for opposing offensive linemen in the district. The defensive line played with some serious intensity yesterday and had their way with their counterparts on offense.

On to the QB battle.... dropped passes remain an issue. Most of the throws from Bryson Powers, Austin Goffney, and Jacob Kainer looked to me like they were well-placed and rather catchable balls. The only problem was that they were just dropped. 

Austin Goffney did a better job of putting his throws on the mark on Friday; on one drive, he found a totally uncovered Jack Barrientez on a wheel route in the red zone that was inexplicably dropped. That drive, unfortunately, ended without a touchdown, as a botched pitch was recovered by the defense right outside the goal line.

From my observations of the first two scrimmages, I believe that Austin is the best improviser of the three candidates. They are all at least solid, but Austin's physicality puts him at the top in that aspect. He also has pretty good strength for a wiry kid; he's a tough runner once he's underway, and would-be tacklers bounce off of him with surprising ease, which will definitely serve him well when he's forced to use his feet to extract himself from tough situations. On the run, he made a couple of solid throws; rolling out to his right, he found an open man who nearly got the first down, and while under pressure, he lobbed a pass over the heads of the pursuing linemen and found Michael Young, who was coming out of the backfield. He also caught a couple of passes; one of them went for a nice gain, but he did come up a little shaken up. However, nothing significant; just a cramp, it seems. Tempo is still an area that Austin needs to improve; he has to know that in this offense, the next play starts instantaneously. 

Overall, I would probably call Friday a spirited draw. A few more completed passes would have tipped the scales slightly in the offense's favor. 

Help (still) wanted: I'm still looking for three players (1 sophomore, 1 junior, and 1 senior) in the program to serve as guest writers. I didn't get much luck in finding anyone last season, but the offer is still open. If you're interested, please direct your questions to me on Twitter. 

Some Observations from Spring Scrimmage #1

I got my first look at the 2015 Cy Woods Wildcats yesterday as they held their first scrimmage of the spring. In this post, I'll be sharing some of my observations with you, including a few players that caught my eye. I even took some videos of a few plays; forgive me for the spotty quality (YouTube, for reasons unknown, would not let me upload these videos in HD) and the howling wind.

The main takeaway from this first impression of the Wildcats is that they're not going to allow 455 points on defense again. JV and varsity defensive players alike... they flew around and really imposed their will on the offense yesterday afternoon.

The JV scrimmage was an affair completely dominated by the defense. No matter who was on the field for them, they consistently drove the offense backwards and positive-yardage plays were few and far between. I think they forced 4 fumbles and recovered 3 of them, and had an interception or two. One JV defender that I was particularly impressed with was Collin Fewox, a sophomore (to-be) safety who had a couple of impressive hits, played with good intensity, and was intent on making plays while he was on the field. For me, he'll be one to watch for in the future.

On the offensive side, JV-wise... well, there's some work to be done. They were on the field for 45, maybe 50 minutes, and did not reach the end zone once. This was, without a doubt, a forgettable outing, but let's keep in mind that this was the first scrimmage of the spring.

Now, on to the varsity. The offense had a few explosive moments, but as was the case with the JV session, defense ruled the day. Again, I must reiterate... it was one scrimmage, and making definitive statements at this point would be most unwise. Kason Franklin had a solid day; he caught Jack Barrientez from behind after the young tailback made a catch-and-run of at least 60 yards and brought him down inside the 5-yard-line. 3 plays later, Kason had an interception in the end zone, one of two passes that he picked off on the day. Here's the other INT:

C.J. Jones and R.J. Harmon did not participate, so sophomore (to-be) Jack Barrientez took the majority of the reps at tailback with the first team. About midway through the varsity session, Jack took a pass from Bryson and very nearly scored; Kason ran him down and tackled him at about the 3-yard-line. Towards the end of the day (I'm fairly sure this was the last play of the day), Jack took a handoff, streaked right through the middle, and left everyone behind on his way to the endzone.

The freshman A-team backfield from last season left a pretty good first impression on me... Jack Barrientez has some pretty good wheels for a freshman. I thought he handled himself very well going up against the big leaguers, and he definitely possesses the big-play capability that the coaching staff covets from its running backs. Jacob Kainer also didn't seem fazed; he busted out a few impressive runs himself, including a long touchdown run that probably would've been called back in an actual game because of a block in the back.

Bryson Powers, Austin Goffney, and Jacob Kainer took turns under center as the Cats look to find a replacement for Nick Hooper. There were some dropped passes and some overthrown balls, which are two telltale signs of a passing game that needs refinement. That'll come with time. The big gains in the passing game came from Barrientez's catch-and-run out of the backfield, and a catch-and-run touchdown caught by Matt Ficalora, a junior (to-be) wideout. He ran a slant, got the pass from Kainer, made a couple of nifty moves in the open field to break free from a couple of would-be tacklers, and showed a good burst of speed as he eventually made his way to the endzone.

In case you missed last season, Bryson made quite the impact as a sophomore as he showcased his versatility and athleticism on both sides of the ball. He started out the year as a receiver and caught 2 touchdowns against Cy Ridge. The next week against Cy Falls, he moved over to safety and ended up garnering 2nd-team All-District honors as a safety. He just does it all. Now, he's back on the offensive side of the ball, looking to state his case to become the next QB1.

Austin Goffney entered the system as a quarterback, but last season on the JV Cardinal (A) team, he also lined up as a receiver, and on occasion, at running back. During the varsity portion of the scrimmage, he caught a touchdown pass. He looked a bit erratic at QB and, during a stint at slot receiver, he dropped a ball in the red zone that he really should have caught. However, he did redeem himself a couple of plays later as he caught that touchdown I mentioned earlier. Because Austin has been utilized in multiple roles in the past, there's still going to be a place for him on the field, even if he doesn't win the starting QB job.

I only saw parts of 2 freshman A-team games last season, but I liked what I saw from Jacob Kainer in that small sample size. His playing style reminds me of Nick Hooper from when he was a freshman. They are strikingly similar: they possess the same body type, a big arm, and if given the chance, they can do serious damage with their legs.

In my opinion, all three of the contenders for the starting quarterback spot possess the talent to be outstanding QBs. The two that lose out don't really lose, to be honest. I feel that they're all good players who will be more than able to contribute in other roles. Players like those don't just wallow away on the bench.

That's all I have for now; more to come following the 2nd scrimmage. I'll be attending all of the scrimmages and the spring game.