Eagles Prep for Season With Home Scrimmage Vs. Fairview
WATONGA — The Watonga Eagles football team got a final tune-up for the 2021 season Thursday with a home scrimmage against the Fairview Yellowjackets.
The scrimmage marked the public’s first glimpse of their Eagles under new head coach Skylar Watson.
Watonga and Fairview spent the scrimmage taking snaps from the 40-yard line, alternating their first- and second-team units and testing plays on offense and defense. The second-team offense and quarterback Trenton Cole were first on the field for Watonga, followed by the second-team defense, the first-team defense and the firstteam offense.
The units then got another rep. After that, the offenses took turns trying an actual drive, starting from their own 40, rather than resetting there after every play.
The scrimmage was marred by two scary injuries to Watonga players. Head Coach Skylar Watson said it appears Chris Sanders’ shoulder popped out of its socket, and plays later Isauro Soto may have broken his wrist. Both players were assisted to the sideline and then carted to the locker room for evaluation.
“You never want to see a kid get hurt,” Watson said. “It’s one of those where they’re both freak accidents that you just can’t control. We’ll pray for them, we’re going to continue to support them, and hopefully we’ll get them back as soon as possible.”
Quarterback Joe Jackson demonstrated his rushing ability on the field with the first teamers, getting around the left edge on one play and gaining about 20 yards. On another play, he found Sanders streaking down the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The scrimmage also demonstrated several areas where the Eagles can improve. Their defensive line showed jitters early on, getting popped for a handful of offsides penalties by jumping before the snap.
The snaps to Cole and Jackson often came in high, forcing the quarterbacks to catch them above their heads. And Watonga’s receivers dropped several passes that could have otherwise been big gains.
Overall, though, Watson left the game feeling optimistic about his squad.
“It’s easy to look at the bad things and things that need to get fixed, but at the end of the day, we’re just going to continue to get better every single week,” Watson said, calling Fairview a “great team” and a worthy test for his young squad. “We’ve just got to trust the process. … We’re just going to push our kids to continue to get better.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I really am.”
Watonga opens the regular season on Friday, Aug. 27 at Thomas.
Catch Watonga Football all season long at WatongaEagles.TV