Prattville blanks Spain Park in spring game
Published 11:21 pm Friday, May 8, 2009
The Spain Park Jaguars hosted the Prattville Lions Friday night for their annual spring game. In a split scrimmage format, the Lions’ varsity squad claimed the 14-0 win in the first half, while the junior varsity ended in a 7-7 tie for the second half.
If you schedule a football game in the middle of May, they will come—whether it’s just a spring game or not. It’s a common trait in the South amongst football lovers to take in all the football you can give them.
For fans and coaches alike, spring training is an opportunity to catch a glimpse of what their team may resemble on Friday nights in the fall.
Extra emphasis was put into this year’s spring training for the Jags knowing the Lions would be coming to town.
“Being able to play a team like Prattville at the end of the spring gave us something to look forward to and work hard for,” Jaguars head coach David Shores said. “It was a good opportunity for us to be able to play such a team like Prattville. We knew it would show us some things that we need to work on in the summer and fall.”
The offense for the Jags had its hits and misses against the Lions. Based out of the shotgun, the play action was fruitful at times along with Jag quarterback, Graham Craig, stretching the field with vertical throws.
The Jags’ lone score on the night came when freshman quarterback Reid Reinagel rumbled in from the Lion’s 5-yard line in the third quarter.
“We really worked on our run game throughout the spring, and there were series tonight where we were moving the ball up and down the field,” Shores said. “We were able to get some play action going as well. I thought we moved the ball well offensively at times.”
Defensively, miscues and penalties loomed over the defense during the night, but that can be expected during spring training. However, it is something that Shores and his staff plan to address.
“We seemed to have a lot of problems with organization and the operations on the defensive side tonight,” he said. “We’ll have to take a look at what we’re doing on defense and fix that.”
The spring game served its purpose for the Jags. It allowed them to see what tools they have to work with while exploiting some issues that need to be addressed. In that respect, it was a good night for the Jags.
“Overall, I was very pleased with the offense. The defense didn’t play bad, but there are some little coaching and playing errors that we have to fix,” Shores said.