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By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN
The Athens Hornets wrapped up their scrimmage schedule Friday night by hosting Greenville at Bruce Field. The two teams got in plenty of work and have lots of film to study before opening the season next week.
It is very hard for an outsider to assess a scrimmage because you never know why coaches are calling certain plays. From the stands it may look like a particular play doesn’t make sense, but coaches may be calling that play to look at a specific aspect of the offense or defense and not be worried about the yardage or down. So with that caveat, here are seven general thoughts I had while watching from the Hornet sideline.
– The Hornets are not afraid to hit, particularly on defense. In our podcast, Coach Paul Essary said that Athens was going to be physical and that came through Friday night.
– The defense has some speed and rallies to the ball well, characteristics that lend themselves to a great nickname if the D can live up to its potential: “The Swarm.”
– The new-look offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.
– I saw several timing patterns built into the Hornet passing game. I predict the completion percentage on those play will go up as the season goes along.
– Xavius Fulton has a rifle for an arm and can put a lot of zip on his passes.
– It’s the preseason for everyone. The referees littered the field with flags Friday night as they worked to get themselves ready. I am sure many of those flags were more “teaching moments” than obvious infractions. I also saw one of the extra referees get wiped out on the Greenville sideline when he didn’t get out of the way of a running play quick enough.
– It’s time for the regular football! The Athens Hornets will open up the 2017 season at home 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, against Mexia. It will mark the first time the Hornets come out of their new field house for a regular season game, so it promises to be a very special night.