NTL FOOTBALL: DESPITE LONG BUS RIDE, SLOW START, GORMAN BELIEVES SAYRE "GOT A LOT OUT OF SCRIMMAGE" AT NORTHWEST AREA (2019-08-19)
Valley Sports ReportSHICKSHINNY, Pa. - Despite a slow start, second-year Sayre coach Kevin Gorman said the Redskins "got a lot out of the scrimmage" here Saturday at Northwest Area.
Sayre plays six road games this season, including five of its final six games.
"It was a long ride there, but I think it will benefit us in the long run," said Gorman.
"We have a lot of long bus rides this season," he noted. "We have five away games in a row, so kids getting use to traveling is always good. It was nice to have our scrimmage on the road this year."
Gorman said it was a "very competitive" scrimmage.
"Northwest is a very good, and well-coached team," he said.
They were very big up front, and I thought we handled them pretty well, noted Gorman. "(Junior) Zach Belles (6-5, 290 pounds) did not play at all. All the (linemen) stepped up in his absence and played pretty well.
"We started kind of slow, both offensively and defensively, but once we got into the scrimmage, I thought we played pretty well," added Gorman. "It was a good scrimmage, I think we got a lot out of it."
One of the biggest competitions for the Redskins this preseason has been at quarterback, where sophomore Brayden Horton, who was starting at the end of last season, and his cousin Lucas Horton, a freshman, are vying for the starting spot.
"Both our quarterbacks played well," said Gorman. "It's tough to gauge in a scrimmage ... both of those guys can run the football, but you want them healthy for Week 1, so in the scrimmage they were kind of off limits. Basically, you're taking the ball out of their hands since no one was allowed to hit the quarterback.
"They both looked good," he noted. "They both had good moments, and down moments. Both of them have to learn to stay in the pocket, and not get impatient and try to make something happen with a scramble - that's something we'll touch on (Monday) during our film session."
"We'll keep working this week and make a decision," added Gorman. "It's not a bad thing to have two quarterbacks.
Gorman was mostly positive about his team's offensive performance.
"Once the guys got use to the pace of our offense, I liked what I saw.
"(Sophomore) David Northrup broke off a 97-yard TD run, and that's always nice to see from a younger back-up player," noted Gorman. "And, (senior) Isaiah Firestine ran hard.
"We looked good passing the ball, and there was room for improvement in the running game," Gorman added. "Overall, I think offensively it was pretty positive."
There is room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball, he noted.
"Not having Zach (Belles), who is a big part of our defensive scheme, was big, but I though the guys behind him - Jordan Goodrich, Jared Giggee, and Kenny Vanderpool - did a nice job.
"Tackling is always an issue early in the season," said Gorman. "I don't like to go live at all, just enough for the kids to get some hits in.
"We need to take it easy with a smallish roster," he noted. "I don't want anyone getting hurt in practice in a drill. We struggled a little tackling. I thought we got a little lazy at times.
"We have three seniors in the secondary, and a freshman (Lucas Horton), who has been with us for two years and understands the defense," added Gorman. "They looked good."
The scrimmage was Sayre's first live experience with high school football's newly-instituted 40-second play clock.
"I don't think the 40-second clock is going to effect us. I actually think it will help us," said Gorman. "I like to get off as many plays off as we can.
"We just need our guys to get use to that pace," he noted. "I think the scrimmage helped our guys realize how fast we want to go.
"I prefer the 40-second clock, I think it's going to speed up games a little bit," added Gorman.
Sayre opens the regular season Saturday when it hosts Bucktail Area in a rare matinee contest. Kick off is slated for 1 p.m.
