The Montezuma-Cortez football scrimmage against Durango on Friday revealed both strengths and weaknesses that the Panthers plan to address before the season starts.
“It was an eye-opener,” said head coach Dave Wagner. “We have some good things. And we have some things to work on.”
One point of attention in the coming weeks will be the Panthers’ line play, both offensively and defensively.
On offense, senior quarterback Cordell Ridings was forced to reach for low snaps and was under fire for much of the afternoon.
Although Ridings was sacked on multiple occasions, he also showed his ability to escape the rush and turn broken plays into short gains by tucking the ball and running.
A bright spot for the Panthers’ offense came when they were able to connect on short, quick routes.
After Ridings hit sophomore Trey Yarbrough on a quick out to the left for a short gain, senior Ryan Gurney caught a quick pass on the ride side, made two defenders miss and turned the 5-yard pass into a 30-yard gain.
The next possession, the Panthers took advantage of the Demons’ pass rush. After the snap to Ridings, the offensive line left the defense through.
Ridings dropped back, patiently waiting for the defense to get too deep, before dropping a slip-screen over them into the arms of junior Coby Baer.
Baer took off for what would have been a 30-plus-yard gain, but the play was called back for holding.
Wagner will likely focus on improving the play of the defensive line as well.
While the Demons’ offense was primarily orchestrated through the air, they were able to break off big gains during their small sample of running plays.
However, the Panthers’ line did force a running back to fumble, which junior Tanner Desrosiers was able to scoop up, and Jesse Lopez jumped on a fumble caused by a bad snap.
The defensive backfield was highlighted by Gurney. The senior two-way player pulled down two interceptions, nearly turning one into a pick-six with a lengthy return.
While the score wasn’t kept during the scrimmage, it was clear that Durango would have come out on top had the points been tallied.
The Panthers may have come away from the scrimmage frustrated, but Wagner remained optimistic.
“We played hard,” he said. “We competed.”
He reminded his team that the scrimmage was intended to be an opportunity to improve.
He also noted that it was not only a learning experience for the freshmen that made up over half of the team’s 42 players, but also for the new coaching staff.
“But there are some glaring holes that we need to work on,” he followed up.
The Panthers will have a week off before they start working on the problem areas.
They will return to speed and strength workouts on Monday, August 10, then begin official practices the following week.
