Published: September 03, 2008 01:36 pm            

Eagles’ grade rises in final scrimmage

WAURIKA — No one asked Larry VanBeber to put a grade on Waurika’s performances in its two preseason scrimmages, but the teacher inside just couldn’t keep still.

Immediately after the Eagles had worked out against Mangum and Walters, a week following a first preseason scrimmage at Hinton, VanBeber answered his own non-prompted question.

“If I had to give us a grade, what would it be?” VanBeber said. “Last week at Hinton, it would have been about a C-plus. But when you look at everything from (Friday’s) scrimmage, I’d give us a solid B.”

In controlled workouts with the two teams from District A-3, the Eagles scrimmaged for 80 minutes against Mangum and about 75 minutes against Walters, an old Waurika nemesis. They were starkly different scrimmages; Mangum is a team that will be hard-pressed to finish in the top half of its district, while the Blue Devils figure to be one of the better teams in A-3.

The Eagles more than held their own in the workout with the Tigers, moving the ball consistently on offense and limiting Mangum’s first team offense to a total of 91 yards on 30 plays.

Still somewhat weary when they lined up against Walters later in the evening, the Eagles had an impressive first drive by the No. 1 offense, but their defense was porous against the more talented Blue Devils.

“Actually, we should have played Walters first, when we were still fresh, but (the Blue Devils) have a good bunch. They’re going to do well in that (A-3) district,” said VanBeber, whose first Waurika team will be back at Cy Sloan Stadium in Week One, to open the 2008 season against Snyder, another A-3 team.

“Against Mangum,” he continued, “I thought we did a good job both on offense and defense. We’re still making some mistakes, but not nearly as many as at Hinton.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how we did.”

Waurika’s offense delivered eye-catching moments in its first possessions against both Mangum and Walters.

Against the Tigers, a strong series began with runs from Matt Wilkerson, Levi Henderson and Jimmy Torrez, before senior quarterback Sean Hall went to the air. Hall completed passes of 14 yards to fullback Henderson and 27 yards to wideout Nathan Howard, before pegging Howard with a slant-in pass for a 2-yard touchdown.

“Sean threw the ball well against both teams, and we had some nice catches by our receivers, especially when they came back to get the ball,” VanBeber noted.

When Waurika’s No. 1 offense went against Walters, on the first possession, Wilkerson and Henderson broke runs of 11 and 15 yards on the first two plays. Wilkerson made a fine, comeback reception on a 16-yard pass from Hall that took the Eagles inside the Blue Devils’ 15-yard line, but they were unable to score on their final three plays in the series.

In other highlights from the final scrimmage:

• The Eagles’ No. 1 offense had only two turnovers for the night, one a lost fumble and one on a pass interception. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 offense did have problems with “jump starts,” however, when the Eagles used multiple snap counts.

• In overall rushing by backs on the No. 1 offense, Wilkerson had 43 yards on 6 carries, Henderson 34 yards on 5 carries and Jimmy Torrez 26 yards in 6 totes.

• When the No. 1 defense was on the field, Henderson, Wilkerson, defensive end Stephen Chupp, defensive back Gil Griffin and tackle Cody Atwood delivered solid hits in the scrimmage with Mangum. Henderson, Wilkerson and Torrez made an impression against Walters.

• Bobby Harris and Howard intercepted passes against Mangum’s No. 1 offense.

• Waurika’s No. 2 offense opened the scrimmage with an impressive drive against Mangum’s defensive backups. The Eagles rolled up 52 total yards in offense, getting a highlight-film catch from wideout Colton White, who went above two Tiger defenders to pull in a 35-yard pass from quarterback Jeff Fuller. That drive stalled at the MHS 11.

• Bloodworth was a workhorse on offense, totally a combined 15 carries and 40 yards in the workouts against MHS and Walters.

• Defensively against Mangum, defensive end/linebacker Reece Bartling, Gage Pittman, Evan Waid, Cameron Bloodworth and Griffin delivered tackles of note.

        

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