WILLIAMSTON — Three area football coaches got their first glimpse of their players in live action on Saturday as Riverside, Plymouth and South Creek scrimmaged with Northeastern, Pasquotank and White Oak at Riverside High School.
Though the scrimmage was cut in half by a sudden downpour, each team got valuable reps against some quality competition.
Riverside coach Asim McGill enters the 2013 season with a youthful roster and the scrimmage offered him a chance to evaluate some of his unproven players.
“We got a lot of young guys that we’re playing in their first varsity game and we wanted to see how they’d be against another team,” McGill said. “We had several guys that are expected to be starters for us out for various reasons, so we got to play some new guys and they did a pretty good job.”
One player who caught McGill’s eye was sophomore J.J. Wilson, who got some snaps at quarterback and wide receiver.
“I think he’s got potential to be a big time player for us,” McGill said. “We like him at quarterback, but we also need a guy like him in the slot.”
McGill said he was also impressed with the play of safety Jakim Bond.
Plymouth, the defending 1-A state champions, looked like it didn’t miss a beat from last season despite graduating its entire starting backfield and quarterback.
The Vikings ground game churned out big chunks of yards against each opponent they faced.
“DeMarkus Price ran the ball really well,” said Plymouth coach Robert Cody. “Chad Dance looked really good, but we need to see our fullbacks execute the blocking a little better. If we can do that we can be good.”
The Vikings also got a strong effort from first-year quarterback Malik Webb. Defensively, DT William Hollingsworth looked strong, while senior safety Adrian Moore had an interception.
In 2012, South Creek struggled with a young roster, but this year coach Jeremy Jones is looking to see those players take a step up. On Saturday, the Cougars showed signs of potential and made some big plays.
“We had a few explosive plays here and there,” Jones said. “We moved the ball at times on offense, but we’d have one play for a loss that hurt us here and there.”
Quarterback Brandon Battle displayed a good arm and looked extremely nimble as he escaped pressure to make several big plays.
“He’s pretty elusive,” Jones said. “Last year he was able to get himself out of some jams. He tries to keep it alive and can make some plays for us.”