The energy in “Choppy” Wagner Stadium was palpable midnight on Friday. Despite a long day that included the “Meet the Pack” event and a practice beforehand, the Washington football team was rejuvenated as soon as it put on pads for the first time in the offseason.

The Pam Pack spent a few minutes running an assortment of drills before lining up against one another for a full-contact scrimmage. Parents and fans gathered in the stands to see how far the team had come in the offseason.

They weren’t disappointed. The Pam Pack defense got right to work with a strong stop on the first play of the scrimmage. The offense wouldn’t be deterred, though. Tripp Barfield and company came out firing on all cylinders, giving everyone a peek of Washington’s revamped attack.

It seemed pretty balanced right away. Hykeem Ruffin ripped off a long touchdown run on the second snap of the contest before Barfield connected with Matt Black for a score on the following play.

“Any time you score, you’re excited,” coach Sport Sawyer said. “The guys, in practice, go hard against the defense every time.”

The Pam Pack got contributions from its entire offense. Suae Poe and Jaquez Ruffin both made plays out of the backfield, proving that Washington’s ground attack will still be formidable in its overhauled offense.

Sawyer enjoyed the way Barfield and Frederick Holscher ran the offense. He said the one thing he wants to work on moving forward is having both of them get rid of the ball quicker because of the more inexperienced offensive line in front of them.

On defense, Sawyer was happy with what he saw. He still believes that one of the team’s strongest parts is its secondary. He chalked up some of the offense’s big plays to a bit of miscommunication among a younger front seven.

All in all, the evening proved to be a productive and fun one. It injected some excitement into the team, which is less than two weeks removed from its season opener.

“It’s been a long week. We’ve had them in 4 p.m. a lot of days and at 8:15 a.m. lifting weights,” Sawyer said. “Last night, we had ‘Meet the Pack’ at 6 p.m. and then a practice after that. I think the guys are ready to get going. Next week we have some scrimmages.

“It’s football time.”