First-and-Ten Football Notebook: Tigers working to get back on track (scrimmage notes added)
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The 11th and final team featured in the 2012 First-and-Ten Football Notebook is the McClain Tigers, as I had the opportunity to watch them not only practice on Monday afternoon, but face the Wilmington Hurricane in a Saturday morning scrimmage at McClain Field.
I'll say it right now … the McClain Tigers already look better than they did last season, where they finished 1-9 overall with a Week 2 win over Unioto. With that said, there have been been some changes to personnel and the playbook, and the players returning have more experience at the varsity level than they did one season ago, and that always seems to make a lot of difference.
The Tigers have a new full-time starting quarterback in Thomas Schrader, who worked with the first team players during the scrimmage, along with some veteran experience on both sides of the ball … more on that later.
When I visited the Tigers during their Monday practice, it seemed to me this team wants to forget last year's injury-plagued season and are really looking forward to this year. I had the chance to watch them work on all aspects of their game for the hour I spent at their practice, and it was interesting to see it transfer over to their second scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday vs. Wilmington (MHS scrimmages Southeastern on Wednesday at SEHS).
In talking to coach Randy Closson, he knows his team has a lot to do if they want to move up the ladder of the South Central Ohio League, but to be fair, last season and the last few seasons, the Tigers have had many injuries at the skill positions, and that has been cause for some of the setback the past couple seasons.
I'll go into more detail about the upcoming season in the actual preview in the First-and-Ten Football Preview edition, but I will talk about Saturday's scrimmage.
Here are some of my thoughts and reactions to the scrimmage:
- In their first 10-plays on defense against Wilmington, the Tigers' defense had good energy the first play by stopping the run. On the third play, MHS had another good defensive stop on the run as WHS had six runs and four passes (used two quarterbacks during the drive). Of those 10 plays, the Tigers' first team held the Wilmington first team scoreless.
- McClain's first 10 offensive plays were four runs and six passes, including a couple nice runs by Dillon East, along with on-target passes by Thomas Schrader to Shaun Haddox for 15 to 20 yards and a pass-and-catch by Schrader to Trevor Gossett.
- The second 10-plays by each team were a mix of first-team players and second-team players where Wilmington broke away for three touchdown plays, with two of the TDs being over 50-plus yards. To be fair, the Tigers had their first-team players on the sideline during the second 10-plays.
- The third 10-play segment was fun to watch as it was the two freshmen teams facing each other. One player who stood out for McClain during this segment was Alex Hollar. On defense, he made an open field tackle, and when he got the ball out of the backfield on offense, he broke away on a sweep for a 70-yard touchdown. Another freshman was QB Cody Hardesty, who ran on a QB keeper for around a 15-yard gain.
- Goal line practice saw the Hurricane score three out of four chances with two touchdown throws to the right and left corners of the end zone and once on a run up the middle of the line. The Tigers had two scores in the same goal line practice with Ryan Faulconer scoring on a pass from Schrader in the right corner of the end zone, and once with a pass to the middle of the end zone with the same Schrader-to-Faulconer combo.
- As for the actual game scrimmage for the first team, the Tigers gained two first downs with runs by East, Jordan Goble and Chris Sellman.
- The MHS defense gave up a 53-yard rushing touchdown in their second time on the field during the game scrimmage.
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3 Quick Thoughts on the McClain Tigers
1. From what I've watched this preseason, I honestly feel the Tigers are improved from where they were one season ago.
2. When the first-team players did give up a play for positive yardage against them on defense, I liked how they continued to stay positive and wanted to keep playing. I liked the energy they've shown thus far.
3. The Tigers will benefit from the athleticism of quarterback Thomas Schrader. He has the ability to scramble to make plays when something goes awry, and he does have the ability to throw the football.
Two Must-See Games
Week 1 (Aug. 24) at Adena — This game is on my list for the fact it's game one of the season, and I want to see how the Tigers start the season. In actual game mode, the Tigers could be a fun team to watch this season if they can just stay healthy.
Week 10 (Oct. 27) at Hillsboro — Last year's game came down to the final play as the Tigers lost the annual Rotary Bowl. Who knows where these two teams will be by Week 10 of the season, but for the most part each year, this game is entertaining and competitive.
Who to Watch
- Dillon East, running back/linebacker, senior
East had most of the carries during the Tigers' scrimmage vs. Wilmington as he ran hard. He returns experience from last season.
- Thomas Schrader, quarterback, junior
Schrader had some time at QB last season playing for injured quarterback Camron Cooper. Schrader has the ability to make nice on-the-mark passes and the ability to break away from opposing players on defense with his athleticism.
- Jordan Goble, wide receiver/defensive back, senior
Goble has played some sort of starting role for the Tigers the past two seasons headed into his senior season. He was a starting quarterback his sophomore season, he ran the ball and has made catches at wide out … not to mention he's a big part of the Tigers' defense. He is an all-around athlete for McClain.
Player Quote
"I play football because I like the contact, I like coming out on the field, I like hanging out with my friends. We are a big family, and football brings us all closer. It's my senior year, and this is the last chance we get." — Devin Trefz, McClain senior center, on why he plays football.
Coach Quote
"We are going to be a little more versatile than we have been, With our offensive line being more experienced, we can throw more blocking schemes into our system. We are going to have a variety of personal packages … we got different ways to attack defenses." — Randy Closson, McClain head coach, on their offense this upcoming season.
Final Thoughts
With this being the final First-and-Ten Football Preview Notebook I just want to thank all involved who allowed me to visit with them this offseason. As for the Tigers, I see the improvement already from last season, and if they can stay injury-free, I think that improvement will show on the field throughout the season.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of the Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
I'll say it right now … the McClain Tigers already look better than they did last season, where they finished 1-9 overall with a Week 2 win over Unioto. With that said, there have been been some changes to personnel and the playbook, and the players returning have more experience at the varsity level than they did one season ago, and that always seems to make a lot of difference.
The Tigers have a new full-time starting quarterback in Thomas Schrader, who worked with the first team players during the scrimmage, along with some veteran experience on both sides of the ball … more on that later.
When I visited the Tigers during their Monday practice, it seemed to me this team wants to forget last year's injury-plagued season and are really looking forward to this year. I had the chance to watch them work on all aspects of their game for the hour I spent at their practice, and it was interesting to see it transfer over to their second scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday vs. Wilmington (MHS scrimmages Southeastern on Wednesday at SEHS).
In talking to coach Randy Closson, he knows his team has a lot to do if they want to move up the ladder of the South Central Ohio League, but to be fair, last season and the last few seasons, the Tigers have had many injuries at the skill positions, and that has been cause for some of the setback the past couple seasons.
I'll go into more detail about the upcoming season in the actual preview in the First-and-Ten Football Preview edition, but I will talk about Saturday's scrimmage.
Here are some of my thoughts and reactions to the scrimmage:
- In their first 10-plays on defense against Wilmington, the Tigers' defense had good energy the first play by stopping the run. On the third play, MHS had another good defensive stop on the run as WHS had six runs and four passes (used two quarterbacks during the drive). Of those 10 plays, the Tigers' first team held the Wilmington first team scoreless.
- McClain's first 10 offensive plays were four runs and six passes, including a couple nice runs by Dillon East, along with on-target passes by Thomas Schrader to Shaun Haddox for 15 to 20 yards and a pass-and-catch by Schrader to Trevor Gossett.
- The second 10-plays by each team were a mix of first-team players and second-team players where Wilmington broke away for three touchdown plays, with two of the TDs being over 50-plus yards. To be fair, the Tigers had their first-team players on the sideline during the second 10-plays.
- The third 10-play segment was fun to watch as it was the two freshmen teams facing each other. One player who stood out for McClain during this segment was Alex Hollar. On defense, he made an open field tackle, and when he got the ball out of the backfield on offense, he broke away on a sweep for a 70-yard touchdown. Another freshman was QB Cody Hardesty, who ran on a QB keeper for around a 15-yard gain.
- Goal line practice saw the Hurricane score three out of four chances with two touchdown throws to the right and left corners of the end zone and once on a run up the middle of the line. The Tigers had two scores in the same goal line practice with Ryan Faulconer scoring on a pass from Schrader in the right corner of the end zone, and once with a pass to the middle of the end zone with the same Schrader-to-Faulconer combo.
- As for the actual game scrimmage for the first team, the Tigers gained two first downs with runs by East, Jordan Goble and Chris Sellman.
- The MHS defense gave up a 53-yard rushing touchdown in their second time on the field during the game scrimmage.
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3 Quick Thoughts on the McClain Tigers
1. From what I've watched this preseason, I honestly feel the Tigers are improved from where they were one season ago.
2. When the first-team players did give up a play for positive yardage against them on defense, I liked how they continued to stay positive and wanted to keep playing. I liked the energy they've shown thus far.
3. The Tigers will benefit from the athleticism of quarterback Thomas Schrader. He has the ability to scramble to make plays when something goes awry, and he does have the ability to throw the football.
Two Must-See Games
Week 1 (Aug. 24) at Adena — This game is on my list for the fact it's game one of the season, and I want to see how the Tigers start the season. In actual game mode, the Tigers could be a fun team to watch this season if they can just stay healthy.
Week 10 (Oct. 27) at Hillsboro — Last year's game came down to the final play as the Tigers lost the annual Rotary Bowl. Who knows where these two teams will be by Week 10 of the season, but for the most part each year, this game is entertaining and competitive.
Who to Watch
- Dillon East, running back/linebacker, senior
East had most of the carries during the Tigers' scrimmage vs. Wilmington as he ran hard. He returns experience from last season.
- Thomas Schrader, quarterback, junior
Schrader had some time at QB last season playing for injured quarterback Camron Cooper. Schrader has the ability to make nice on-the-mark passes and the ability to break away from opposing players on defense with his athleticism.
- Jordan Goble, wide receiver/defensive back, senior
Goble has played some sort of starting role for the Tigers the past two seasons headed into his senior season. He was a starting quarterback his sophomore season, he ran the ball and has made catches at wide out … not to mention he's a big part of the Tigers' defense. He is an all-around athlete for McClain.
Player Quote
"I play football because I like the contact, I like coming out on the field, I like hanging out with my friends. We are a big family, and football brings us all closer. It's my senior year, and this is the last chance we get." — Devin Trefz, McClain senior center, on why he plays football.
Coach Quote
"We are going to be a little more versatile than we have been, With our offensive line being more experienced, we can throw more blocking schemes into our system. We are going to have a variety of personal packages … we got different ways to attack defenses." — Randy Closson, McClain head coach, on their offense this upcoming season.
Final Thoughts
With this being the final First-and-Ten Football Preview Notebook I just want to thank all involved who allowed me to visit with them this offseason. As for the Tigers, I see the improvement already from last season, and if they can stay injury-free, I think that improvement will show on the field throughout the season.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of the Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.