Fairbanks’ Chase Litzke is brought down by a Bexley defender Saturday morning. The Panthers scrimmaged the Lions in preparation for the 2017 season, which begins on Friday, Aug. 25 with a home game against Benjamin Logan.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The Fairbanks Panthers got their second look at an opposing football team, while the Marysville Monarchs went up against a live foe for the first time this preseason during scrimmages on Saturday.
The Panthers hosted Bexley, while the Monarchs traveled to Hilliard Bradley.
Both FHS head coach Patrick Cotter and Brent Johnson, his Marysville counterpart, saw things they liked and other areas that still need work.
“The biggest improvement I saw from our scrimmage at Amanda Clearcreek was our tempo,” said Cotter. “We played at a fast speed and got the ball up and down the field.”
The FHS coach said the offensive line kept quarterback Jacob Nicol clean and he liked the way that the perimeter running game played.
“I also felt that our defense made good reads,” he said. “They are understanding and adjusting to the 4-3.”
Cotter praised the efforts of defensive ends Cole Murdock and Tyler Beem, linebacker Matt Bouic and safety Josh Day.
“Those are some younger guys who are taking good steps forward,” he said. “Our defense did a nice job of going downhill and filling the gaps against the running game.”
“I thought the biggest strides we made were the fact the guys competed and handled adversity well,” said Johnson. “I think the guys are handling our switch to a ‘hybrid Wing-T’ pretty well. We kept our offense pretty basic on Saturday. The biggest thing we wanted to see was how physical and aggressively we played.
“I thought Tommy Rush and Tayden Jackson picked up some tough yards and Tyler Connolly was impressive on the offensive line.
“We really wanted to see what they can do,” said Johnson. “We want to play our own brand of football.”
The Monarch boss said he was also pleased with the progression of the defense, especially from linebacker Mike Powers and cornerback Jarrett Karnes.
“Mike was all over the field,” said Johnson. “Jarrett is a basketball guy who is coming back out for football. Hilliard Bradley has a lot of good receivers and Jarrett did a good job against them.
“I told the guys after the scrimmage that we showed effort and toughness.”
While some of the coaches’ reviews were position, there are still areas in which work needs to be done.
When asked what still needs work, Cotter replied, “Everything.”
The coach added, “We just need to keep refining and sharpening things as we go. There are still some little things that need to be corrected.”
“We didn’t have a lot of penalties, but we still had too many,” said Johnson. “We need to be a little more disciplined on offense in order to sustain drives and stay on schedule.”
Both teams will play in Jamboree scrimmages on Friday.
The Monarch varsity will host Hilliard Darby, beginning at 7 p.m. The freshmen will take to the field prior to the varsity action.
The Panthers will travel to Licking County for Lakewood’s Jamboree.