Gearing up for spring game April 23
Saturday, April 9, the Javelina football team took the field at the Javelina Stadium for their first Spring opener scrimmage.
The Javelinas took their sides as Offense against Defense for a competitive matchup between the two.
The Javelinas have been working very diligently during the off-season prepping for their Spring season, coaches said.
“Practice the day before was a good day as far as intensity. I think our guys were getting a little bored with the mundane of practice, you could tell that they were eager to have a scrimmage,” Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Petty said. “So, it was a little bit of a day where they needed to have a little bit more focus on what we were doing but a lot of that had to do with us going on practice number nine…at that point the guys are getting really ready to get into a scrimmage type scenario so they can have a real game type scenario. It was an intense practice so that we could come out and have a great scrimmage that Saturday.”
The scrimmage gave fans and families a chance to come out and get a glimpse of what the Javelinas have been up to on the practice field.
“All and all, due to some injuries and some players getting sick before the scrimmage a lot of guys had to step up and fill in some spots,” Rodd Hudson III, a team member, said. “There .were no drop-offs in any position…so everyone felt good, and everyone was excited. Like Coach Michael Salinas would say, ‘It isn’t as good as it seems, and it isn’t as bad as it seems.’ We watched the film, and we broke it down. We had some hiccups here and there but overall, everything on the offense and defensive side of the ball as far as execution was great, effort was great.”
Offensive Line Coach Manny Martinez said the players were energetic on the field.
“The energy on both sides of the ball was positive…to say the least energetic,” he said. “I think both sides are willing to work, they know that these practices must be taken advantage of. They were eager to get out and show what they’ve learned, especially offensively you know? Because we have a sort of new offensive staff so the guys were eager and of course the defense is always going to respond…it was great energy on both sides.”
The Javelinas are prepped and eager for their last Spring scrimmage and to show the fans what to expect for this upcoming Fall.
“Moving forward we have…I want to say five more opportunities to go out on the practice field and get better, we’ll have a couple for insulations that we’ll put in both defensively, offensively, and as well as special teams to kind of prepare for the last scrimmage,” Petty said.
“For the most part we’ll just clean up on some of the mistakes we made from a schematical standpoint and effort standpoint, and just sharpen up the guys’ conditioning so we can go out on Saturday, April 23, and make sure that the Spring game is great for us and a great opportunity for our fans to see us play and get an early look at what we’ll look like for this fall.”
The Spring game begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. The fall season begins on Sept. 3 when the Javelinas face off against North American University.
