Griffin Johnson of Marysville picks up yardage during Saturday’s preseason scrimmage at Delaware Hayes High School. Mount Vernon was also included during the action. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
High school football coaches see a little bit of everything during the first preseason scrimmage of the summer.
There are good things upon which to build and some not so good things that need to be corrected.
Marysville High School head coach Brent Johnson saw both during Saturday’s scrimmage at Delaware Hayes. The competition also included the Yellow Jackets of Mount Vernon.
What the coach saw that he liked very much was his team’s style of play.
“We told the guys a couple days before the scrimmage that we wanted to see them play fast and physical and with a lot of energy,” he said. “That’s what we saw.
“I liked our physical play,” he said.
The Monarchs’ defensive line was especially impressive against Delaware Hayes.
There were numerous times when the Monarch line knocked Pacer ball carriers down behind the line of scrimmage for huge losses.
Marysville’s varsity offensive units ran the ball well with the likes of Griffin Johnson and Jerry McNeill.
Linebacker-running back Gabe Powers missed the scrimmage while nursing a foot injury suffered during camp. He is expected back this week.
The Monarchs revealed the addition of several short passing plays to compliment the running attack out of their Wing T offense.
Johnson liked his team’s field position.
“For the most part, we stayed on schedule,” he said. “That’s the key to everything… moving the ball well and staying ahead of the sticks and preventing the other team from advancing.”
Still, the coach knows there is much work to be done.
“We made a lot of mistakes today, which really was expected,” said Johnson. “We had some big plays called back because of holding penalties.
“We can’t have those types of flags in games,” he said. “We also can’t put the ball on the ground like we did a couple of times.”
The Monarchs will close out the preseason when they play during Central Crossing’s Jamboree scrimmage on Thursday. The varsity will take the field at approximately 6 p.m.
“We know we have to clean up some offensive and defensive assignments this week in practice,” said Johnson.
“We can’t get off schedule because of something we do.”