If the score was being kept, it might have had the Bronchos on top. But in scrimmages there are no winners or losers, just two teams trying to get better and prepare for the season.
“There were lots of touchdowns by different teams, the 1s, the 2s, whoever’s out there,” Sandifer said. “I think we played pretty even. They had a lot of yards running the football on us and hit a couple nice passes. We had a lot of new faces out there (Friday) and that, kind of, was happening quicker than they have seen.”
More important than anything that happened during the scrimmage was how the Bulldogs react to seeing the film and fixing the mistakes.
“It was pretty rough there for a while as far as the line play, on both sides of the ball,” Sandifer said. “They had us outmanned up there. Like I told the kids, we knew there were going to be a lot of really good plays and a lot of really bad plays. The key is, now, the maturity level of learning from the film, coming back and getting better.”
Things started off well enough for Wylie during the controlled portion of the scrimmage. Senior linebacker Brazos Ham recovered a fumble and junior defensive back Jaxon McAden intercepted a pass.
But Odessa High's No. 2 offense scored off a couple long runs. Neither the Wylie No. 1 nor No. 2 offense was able to get much going starting from its own 25-yard line.
Both OHS' No. 1 and No. 2 offenses picked up a touchdown on drives starting from midfield while Wylie stalled out.
After Odessa scored three touchdowns starting from the Wylie 30-yard line, the Bulldogs got some things of their own going when Harrison Atwood hit Hayden Keidl for a big gain, then finished the drive with a short touchdown pass to Christian Ramirez.
One play later, this time with the No. 2 offense, Jaxon Hansen tossed a screen pass to Dayton Barnes, who worked his way 30 yards into the end zone. Hansen threw another touchdown pass, this time to Peyton Wood, that was called back when the play was whistled down before the throw.
“What I liked (Friday) was how we didn’t quit,” Sandifer said. “We struggled offensively with the 1s, put together a drive and got into the end zone. The 2s came back and didn’t quit.”
It wouldn't matter, as Hansen hit Ham on the sideline for TD after a spin move. Wylie had one more touchdown, as third-string quarterback Balin Valentine found Calvin Tiner in the end zone.
Though there wasn't any quit in the Bulldogs, execution often was lacking — the offensive line protecting Atwood or Hansen, on the defensive line disrupting the Bronchos or just not finishing plays.
“I was a little disappointed in some of the blown routes we had (Friday),” Sandifer said. “It looked, to me, a little more of big eyes in the bright lights, guys that know the routes would just break them off and quit running ... We’ve just got to sure up the point of attack on both sides of the line."
In the 12-minute, running clock live period, the Bronchos opened with the ball and marched 75 yards into the end zone. Wylie could not answer, going three-and-out, and Odessa High ran the clock out from there.
One of the bigger questions this offseason is who will take the snaps for the Bulldogs this season. Atwood, the senior, completed four passes during the controlled period and scrambled for some rushing yards while Hansen, a sophomore, completed five.
It was a good first look for both on a Friday night under the Bulldog Stadium lights.
“I thought they both did well,” Sandifer said. “They were under a lot of pressure. There was a lot of heat in the backfield, very few clean pockets. I liked the way they stood in there and made plays. We throw a touchdown with the 2s they brought back, Jaxon stayed in there and made a play.
"Harrison did a good job scrambling out of some bad pocket breakdowns … I liked what they both did. For not ever really being on a Friday night field with any importance to it, they both did well.”
Next Friday, games count. It's nondistrict play, but the score will be kept and a winner will be declared. The gauntlet that is the Wylie schedule starts with Georgetown, a team that gave Class 5A Division II state champions their closest game in the playoffs.
Georgetown is now a Division I team and will test the Bulldogs early when the Eagles come to Abilene.
"We’re getting ready to play a really good football team," Sandifer said. "They got knocked out last year in the playoffs by the state champion and have got a good number back. They’re going to be strong.”
The focus will still be on the Bulldogs. That starts with the game plan, but will rely on better execution from all 11 players on the field.
“We’re going to be more multiple, we were pretty vanilla (Friday),” Sandifer said. “Try to do som... Click here to read full article
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