Continuing to improve, North battles in scrimmage with Whiteland

Each new day is 24 hours closer to the start of the high school football season and Columbus North used Tuesday’s scrimmage against Whiteland as another day to get better. 

Half of the scrimmage was used for the 7-on-7 match up while from the 40-yard line while the other half was used for the the 11-on-11 plays. The Bull Dogs took all of their 11-on-11 plays from the 40-yard line while the Warriors started all of their 11-on-11 plays from their own 10-yard line. 

Senior quarterback Trenton Kelley said he is noticing the progress the team is making. 

“We just came off a week off, so we’re a little rusty but I feel like we got better as the scrimmage went on,” Kelley said. “I feel like (the execution) was better than the last scrimmage. We still got a ways to go, but definitely we’re getting better at it.” 

North coach Tim Bless said the offensive execution was just OK on Tuesday. He mentioned how the Bull Dogs have to continue to be on the same page with blocking assignments and with the route structure in the passing game.

Kelley has headed into the last two scrimmages looking at almost an entirely new offense, especially with his lead receivers in senior D’Andre Scruggs and sophomore Preston Terrell still out with injuries. Bless credited that to some of the mishaps in the passing game.  

“Trenton is throwing to a new cast of characters pretty much, but it’s also great,” Bless said. “It’s great for our team, it’s great for depth, it’s great for new guys being thrown into the mix. Those veterans who are on the mend from injury, we’ll get them back acclimated when they can safely do so.” 

Bless also recognized how tough it is to prepare for Whiteland’s offense and said North knew it would give up some plays on the defensive end. However, he praised the execution of the defensive line when defending the run during the 11-on-11 plays. He also was pleased with the coverage during the 7-on-7 portion. 

“In our 7-on-7 segment I think we had like four interceptions so we’re thrilled how we played on the coverage game,” he said. 

North’s final scrimmage before the start of the season will be on July 17 when it host both Martinsville and New Albany.