One thing that I've learned in my 29 years as a coach and/or analyst is that you can learn an awful lot from a scrimmage that can all turn out to mean absolutely nothing. That said, there have been some interesting scrimmages taking place in the past several days and I've had the opportunity to either see them live or through the technology of HUDL online. Here's some notes on those match ups.
Sumter vs Lexington: Sumter whupped the Wildcats in a game-like scrimmage and scored around 50 points to Lexington's two scores. What you don't get from the score is that the Wildcats had five stops with their defense, which is pretty good considering the performance of that same defense last season. They also did not throw the ball but about ten times, which is very uncharacteristic of what we will see from this team in regular season. Their starting RB did not play and they did not use the services of Grayson Chumley on offense, either, which could have been a big boost. But Coach Stepp isn't trying to win the region in a scrimmage with a team from another region. He's trying to assess their weaknesses and work on them. Sumter looked good offensively moving the ball on the ground and in the short pass. They will struggle this year if they try to throw the ball deep - I don't think they can do that successfully. Defensively, the Gamecocks looked good against the run but I think they could be suspect to a strong pass attack.
Dutch Fork vs Spartanburg - This was a surprising outcome, with the Vikings of Spartanburg coming out on top from a scoring standpoint. Sophomore QB Austin Scott tossed three scoring passes (one was called back) and they got a ground score from a freshman standout. Scott trained with QB1 this off-season and it really shows in his mechanics. He needs to settle down on broken plays and not force things to happen; he tried that once in the scrimmage and it ended up with an interception. Dutch Fork moved the ball well on the ground. RB Matthew Colburn got limited touches but senior Walter Roberson had a solid performance and was impressive. Dutch Fork will be fine on the defensive side of the football. Their offensive line is huge but really didn't blow me away between the tackles. Their tight end set is second to none - very impressive.
North Augusta vs Goose Creek - The Yellow Jackets of North Augusta flexed their muscles and downed the Goose Creek Gators in their scrimmage match up, yielding just two scores to the Gators. North Augusta got solid play from junior quarterback Trib Reece, who was a standout recently at the QB1 Challenge in Columbia. The Jackes look strong up front but it was their defense that was even more impressive against a strong running attack from the Gators. This North Augusta team may have their best roster in a while and should be a strong contender for the Region V crown; we'll get another good look at them when they face off with defending 4A-DII champion Greenwood.
Spring Valley vs Manning/Brookland-Cayce - Two scrimmages for the Vikings this past week and each was successful; against Manning, the Vikings ran the ball at will and their defense was too much for the Monarchs to overcome. Spring Valley has improved at the quarterback position and the use of rising sophomore Ryan Lee at running back and quarterback has added a dimension to the offense. Manning did not look impressive and will have to improve if they are going to compete in the Region VI-3A. Against Brookland-Cayce, more of the same for the Vikings. The offensive front was dominating and the Vikings, again, moved the ball well on the ground. Lee was impressive in that scrimmage; Josh Harlan has moved to inside LB and looks good there and Christian Miller was unblockable. Brookland-Cayce will struggle this season if they attempt to move the ball through the air. They have several running backs who are better than average but need to tighten up on the defensive side of the football.
Richland Northeast vs York - The RNE Cavaliers gave up a few scores to the Cougars and look like they may have a very young football team this season. Their defense appeared to be young in the secondary, vulnerable to the passing game but their front seven looked very good. Offensively, they return to a two back and even some three-back offense with an inexperienced quarterback. York does not look as strong as I anticipated them being. They have a good junior quarterback in Dashawn Andrews (6-3, 230) with a big arm but he still needs to mature at the position. They are not as big as they have been in the past on defense, but they are typical of a Bobby Carroll coached defense - fast to the ball and physical. Neither of these teams will threaten for the crown in their respective regions but both could finish in playoff contention.
Sumter vs Lexington: Sumter whupped the Wildcats in a game-like scrimmage and scored around 50 points to Lexington's two scores. What you don't get from the score is that the Wildcats had five stops with their defense, which is pretty good considering the performance of that same defense last season. They also did not throw the ball but about ten times, which is very uncharacteristic of what we will see from this team in regular season. Their starting RB did not play and they did not use the services of Grayson Chumley on offense, either, which could have been a big boost. But Coach Stepp isn't trying to win the region in a scrimmage with a team from another region. He's trying to assess their weaknesses and work on them. Sumter looked good offensively moving the ball on the ground and in the short pass. They will struggle this year if they try to throw the ball deep - I don't think they can do that successfully. Defensively, the Gamecocks looked good against the run but I think they could be suspect to a strong pass attack.
Dutch Fork vs Spartanburg - This was a surprising outcome, with the Vikings of Spartanburg coming out on top from a scoring standpoint. Sophomore QB Austin Scott tossed three scoring passes (one was called back) and they got a ground score from a freshman standout. Scott trained with QB1 this off-season and it really shows in his mechanics. He needs to settle down on broken plays and not force things to happen; he tried that once in the scrimmage and it ended up with an interception. Dutch Fork moved the ball well on the ground. RB Matthew Colburn got limited touches but senior Walter Roberson had a solid performance and was impressive. Dutch Fork will be fine on the defensive side of the football. Their offensive line is huge but really didn't blow me away between the tackles. Their tight end set is second to none - very impressive.
North Augusta vs Goose Creek - The Yellow Jackets of North Augusta flexed their muscles and downed the Goose Creek Gators in their scrimmage match up, yielding just two scores to the Gators. North Augusta got solid play from junior quarterback Trib Reece, who was a standout recently at the QB1 Challenge in Columbia. The Jackes look strong up front but it was their defense that was even more impressive against a strong running attack from the Gators. This North Augusta team may have their best roster in a while and should be a strong contender for the Region V crown; we'll get another good look at them when they face off with defending 4A-DII champion Greenwood.
Spring Valley vs Manning/Brookland-Cayce - Two scrimmages for the Vikings this past week and each was successful; against Manning, the Vikings ran the ball at will and their defense was too much for the Monarchs to overcome. Spring Valley has improved at the quarterback position and the use of rising sophomore Ryan Lee at running back and quarterback has added a dimension to the offense. Manning did not look impressive and will have to improve if they are going to compete in the Region VI-3A. Against Brookland-Cayce, more of the same for the Vikings. The offensive front was dominating and the Vikings, again, moved the ball well on the ground. Lee was impressive in that scrimmage; Josh Harlan has moved to inside LB and looks good there and Christian Miller was unblockable. Brookland-Cayce will struggle this season if they attempt to move the ball through the air. They have several running backs who are better than average but need to tighten up on the defensive side of the football.
Richland Northeast vs York - The RNE Cavaliers gave up a few scores to the Cougars and look like they may have a very young football team this season. Their defense appeared to be young in the secondary, vulnerable to the passing game but their front seven looked very good. Offensively, they return to a two back and even some three-back offense with an inexperienced quarterback. York does not look as strong as I anticipated them being. They have a good junior quarterback in Dashawn Andrews (6-3, 230) with a big arm but he still needs to mature at the position. They are not as big as they have been in the past on defense, but they are typical of a Bobby Carroll coached defense - fast to the ball and physical. Neither of these teams will threaten for the crown in their respective regions but both could finish in playoff contention.