MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon defensive back Keith Anthony and
running back Trevor Manuel summed up the feelings of many of their teammates
after Friday’s scrimmage with Mississippi College.
There was no score to determine a winner or a loser on
Friday, but Anthony and Manuel like the direction their team is headed in after
nine days of practice.
“This is probably the most enthusiastic team I have been a
part of in my four years here,” said Anthony, a senior from Eclectic. “We’re working
hard, we love the game and we love this team. I like the way we’re looking
right now.”
Manuel, a junior from Monroeville, said the Hawks finished
strong in the scrimmage. He said the team is trying not to waste any
opportunities to get better.
“Since I’ve been at Huntingdon, this is the team I’ve felt
the most confident in,” Manuel said. “We all want the same things and we’re all
buying into the same goals. We all want to be a better team than we were last
year and we’re trying to get better each day.”
Head coach Mike Turk said he saw tremendous improvement from
the Hawks’ first scrimmage earlier this week.
“We played pretty well on both sides of the ball today,”
Turk said. “The offense moved the ball and our tempo was better. We executed
better and I thought we protected the passer very well today, which was a big
improvement from earlier in the week.
“Defensively, we had a pretty solid performance. They scored
early but I thought we picked up our intensity until the final possession when
they scored again. Once we settled in, I thought we reacted well and played
well.”
The early stages of the scrimmage focused on group drills for
about an hour before the teams squared off for 11-on-11 work.
“I’m sure when we watch film there will be a lot of things
that need correcting, but I was proud of the way we performed,” Turk said. “It
was obvious we were a little nervous about facing someone different. That’s one
of the reasons you do this, so that you’re more comfortable the next time you
see a team wearing a different color.”
The Hawks have Saturday off from practice before returning
to the field at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. There will be a newcomers scrimmage on
Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for the players that didn’t participate Friday.
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