LUMBERTON — Scotland’s football team played its first preseason scrimmage on Monday night, falling to Dillon 17-14 at the Battle of the Carolinas Jamboree.
The scrimmage featured two 20-minute halves with a running clock. Scotland scored its first touchdown on a short pass from Mandrell Johnson to Bruce Wall in the first half. Newcomer Savion Leak scored the second touchdown on a run of around 10 yards in the second half after picking up a big gain to get the Scots inside Dillon territory.
Tyquan King rushed for Dillon’s first touchdown in the first half. Cadonis Ladson grabbed a touchdown reception for the Wildcats in the second half.
Scotland took possession deep inside its own territory with 25 seconds left in the game. With the team’s backups now in the game on offense, the Scots botched a snap and Dillon recovered the loose ball near the endzone. The Wildcats then made a last-second field goal to win the scrimmage.
Coach’s thoughts
Richard Bailey said he wasn’t trying to use the team’s full play calling capabilities on Monday night.
“In a scrimmage like this, where you’re trying to balance reps, you’re not calling plays necessarily like you would have,” Bailey said. “There were some pass plays I could have called, but they weren’t on my piece of paper. We didn’t do as many of our dropback schemes as I probably would have done. Maybe we’ll try a little more of that against Cape Fear on Friday (at the Cumberland County Schools Football Jamboree).”
Bailey liked what he saw out of his group of running backs.
“It doesn’t matter which one we’re giving it to,” Bailey said. “We’re very blessed. Coach asks me which one I want in. I said, whichever one you want to put in. I’ll let you know when I don’t want one in.”
Kyshaun Galberth, a senior running back who transferred to Scotland from Hoke, had several impressive carries on Monday.
“Kyshaun’s a brute runner after contact,” Bailey said.
Leak, Darrius Dockery and R.J. Nicholson also carried the ball for the Scots.
Wall’s return
Monday night’s scrimmage was another step in senior receiver Bruce Wall’s return to full-contact football after missing last season with a torn ACL. Wall, who caught Scotland’s first touchdown of the night, said his knee was feeling “100 percent” healthy.
“I’m just trying to get back to myself. I feel like I’m getting back to myself,” Wall said. “I couldn’t be happier with where I am.”
Wall was quick to give credit to Johnson for finding him on the touchdown pass. Wall was glad to be back, and he knew that there was still plenty of work to be done ahead of the Aug. 23 season opener.
“We’ve got to focus on how we run our plays and how fast we run them,” Wall said.
Quarterback battle
Juniors Tyler Barfield and Mandrell Johnson split time at quarterback, just like they did last season.
“Our quarterbacks did some good things,” Bailey said. “I thought tonight Mandrell probably played a little bit better than Tyler did.”
Johnson’s highlights included his touchdown pass to Wall, and a scramble for a big gain on a broken play. Barfield struggled early on but did make some completions. He also threw an interception in the second half.
“Our ability to throw the ball will make the running game even better,” Bailey said. “So we’ll continue to do that and work on our passing game.
Bailey said earlier in the offseason that he wants to choose a full-time starting quarterback by the time Sandhills Athletic Conference play starts.
A look at the defense
Scotland’s defense started strong and forced the Wildcats to punt on their first two possessions. The Scots looked strong against the run, although they gave up chunks of yardage on quarterback scrambles.
The Scots caused problems for Dillon’s passing game early on, and they continued to do so at times despite giving up occasional big gains and a touchdown reception.
Next up
Scotland will play its final preseason scrimmage on Friday night at against Cape Fear at Gray’s Creek High School. The scrimmage will start at 8 p.m. Bailey said his starters will likely only play a series or two before the reserves take over.
The Scots’ scrimmage will be preceded by Richmond’s matchup with South View at 7 p.m.
