The Mississinawa Valley offense had their ups and downs during the scrimmage. But, they were able to make some plays on the ground and through the air.
Photo by Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
By Drew Terhall
DailyAdvocate.com
UNION CITY — It’s almost time for football season to begin. Teams are now getting their first scrimmage in this weekend. For Mississinawa Valley, they got to host Sidney Lehman Catholic and Green High School on Aug. 4.
Head coach Steven Trobridge said the young team came out nervous, but settled down as the scrimmage went on. The team showed Trobridge they are more ahead at this point this year than last year.
“We’re 10 times better right now starting wise, than we were last year. It shows up front, our offensive line and defensive line,” Trobridge said.
The defense from Mississinawa Valley had a rough first series against a good Sidney Lehman team. But they started to make plays once they were comfortable.
They were able to create a few turnovers. When they were facing fourth and goal against Green near the goal line, the team was able to force and recover a fumble.
On offense, the team had some good scoring drives. Trobridge said the team will be alright as long as the young guys can start the game calm.
With it being the team’s first scrimmage, there was some scores taken back due to penalties.
“We scored three times on Green with one getting called back and the other one getting called back on penalties. Shooting ourselves in the foot. Then we played a really good Sidney Lehman team. I loved that because it challenged us,” Trobridge said.
It was Kyle Wehrkamp’s first shot directing the offense in a game-type setting. The scrimmage is a different environment compared to seven on sevens.
Trobridge said as expected, Wehrkamp had some ups and downs. He made some good throws during the scrimmage, including a touchdown throw to his brother Dylan. Trobridge also said some of the downs were caused by the coaching staff making a few mistakes as well.
Wehrkamp also did some good things with his legs. The offense was able to run the ball pretty well during the scrimmage.
“We put him in some bad situations too as a coaching staff. We got to get better at that,” Trobridge said. “But offensively, we averaged, against both teams, 4.4 yards per carry on runs. Our running backs had a heck of a day. Kyle, the same thing.”
Overall, the Blackhawks showed a lot of promise during their first scrimmage. Trobridge said they are happy with where they are at and are focused on the next one.
They will host Bradford on Aug. 11 at 7 p.m.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]
