The Jayton Jaybirds welcomed football to the area on Friday, Aug. 17, as they participated in their first scrimmage at home against the Newcastle Bobcats and the Hermleigh Cardinals. Head Football Coach Josh Stanaland entered the game with a clear goal for his team. “We talked before the scrimmage as a team wanting to do the big things right,” Stanaland said. “The big things for us are effort, enthusiasm and attitude, and I feel like we made good on all three of our goals.”
Jayton began the scrimmage on defense against Newcastle and held up solid, with several new faces starting, only allowing two touchdowns through 15 plays. The offense committed to the running game early against Hermleigh’s defense using Tye Scogin, Aaron Hernandez and Pecos Smith to eat up the interior defense of the Cardinals in short yardage before scoring twice on passes from Kaden Awe to Smith. Through 40 total plays on offense the Jaybirds amassed 372 yards and 11 touchdowns. Scogin led the Jaybirds in rushing for 175 yards and five touchdowns while Smith brought in five passes for 112 yards and four touchdowns. Returning as a three-year starter at quarterback, senior Awe looked sharp early on offense. Also scoring for Jayton’s varsity were Hernandez and Tripp Scott. The Jayton JV took the field and played strong against Newcastle and Hermleigh, giving the crowd an indication that Jayton has a bright future in their underclassmen.
“I am pleased with our play at this point in the preseason,” said Stanaland. “We’ve been moving a little bit slower in teaching our schemes, which hasn’t been a bad thing. We’ve had to go back to basics a little bit to teach our new players the system. We are taking our time getting everyone up to speed and they are beginning to figure it out.”
The Jaybirds enter the season as defending district champions and look to continue their success after the district realignment. The next scrimmage for the Jaybirds will be on Thursday, Aug. 23, in Ira at 6 p.m. before they open their season at home on Aug. 30 against Knox City at the Gridiron Classic.
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