Hawks, Huskies put football talents on display in scrimmage

The pads were popping on Friday night at Mid-Prairie, where two area teams had their final tuneups of the season.

The Golden Hawks hosted Highland in the annual Gator Bowl scrimmage at Mid-Prairie High School, and both teams left feeling good about their teams.

As Week 1 practices begin around the state today, recaps on both Highland and Mid-Prairie?s performances can be found below:

Highland

The Class 1A Huskies were able to show off their new look under first-year head coach Joe Donovan, and had multiple bright spots against the Class 2A Golden Hawks.

After a few incomplete passes, quarterback Jake Wood and wide receiver Trent Lasek connected on a deep ball, and then the Huskies fell into a groove against a talented Mid-Prairie defense.

?For being a new coach and a new program, once we settled down, we really did some sound things against a good 2A program,? Donovan said. ?I?m very proud of our kids. There were holes in our front line for kids to run through, and we drove that ball and put it in the end zone against a quality team.?

New in the backfield is senior Tony Olguin, who impressed during his opportunities with the football in his hand. He broke off a couple of big gains, including a physical run to the end zone during the scrimmage.

?Tony has really come on,? Donovan said. ?He was a wideout last year for this team, and we decided to put him back at fullback and he?s done a nice job. He?s a senior and he?s done a nice job of being a leader. It?s exciting the guys up front are (giving them holes).?

Defensively, the Huskies gave up a few completions in the passing game, but Highland was especially stout when it came to stopping the run game.

Aside from a couple of big plays from Mid-Prairie junior Ricky Vargas, the Huskies were able to largely contain the Hawks? rushing attack.

?I thought our run (defense) was really sound tonight, other than a few big plays,? Donovan said. ?I felt like they were right there (for most of them). When you don?t have the opportunity to scout somebody, you get caught with those, and (Vargas) is fast.?

Overall, in his first live looks of his team, Donovan was pleased with what he saw.

?We couldn?t lose coming over here,? Donovan said. ?If things didn?t go well, now we have an idea what we need to work on. If things went well, then the kids believe even more. The video is going to show they are on the right track and it was a good night for us.?

Highland will open its season at home against Danville on Friday night.

Mid-Prairie

The Hawks return a lot of talent on offense and defense, and it showed during the scrimmage on Friday.

In the pass game, the Hawks were able to control the ball well, including multiple big pass plays, including a pass from senior Ryan Cortum to sophomore Terrhyn Jacoby, who slipped past the defense.

?We?ll have to watch film and see how he did, but I was pretty pleased overall with the quarterback play,? Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanaugh said. ?They made good decisions and threw to the guys they needed to. There?s a few minor things to work on.?

Cortum and junior Isaiahn Powell split time at quarterback during the scrimmage, with Powell typically controlling more of the run packages and Cortum tossing the ball at a higher rate. Cavanaugh didn?t deny the chance that both quarterbacks could see time in the same game.

?We?ll see,? Cavanaugh said. ?I thought (Powell and Cortum) both played well, but I think we?ll start with Ryan. He?s been there before and has that experience, but Isaiahn is a kid who could play here and there. He might play a little receiver as well.?

Running the ball, Mid-Prairie senior Nolan Faselt and Vargas each had their moments, but Vargas was able to bust off more big plays, using his top-notch speed to score.

?(Vargas is) a big-play guy and I think he?s going to have a good year,? Cavanaugh said. ?Our two backs are going to have good years; they are a good combination. They played well tonight.?

The Hawks will open their season on the road on Friday when they take on Durant.