Calera High School football coach Scott Martin saw plenty of positives in the Eagles’ spring scrimmage against Chilton County.

The Eagles defeated Chilton County 39-21 in the scrimmage and led 27-14 late in the third quarter when Martin took his varsity players out of the game May 21.

“We picked up right where we left off in the fall,” Martin said. “We felt like we wrapped up spring with a lot of positives.”

Martin pointed out the play of quarterback Brandon Wells and running back Eugene Rodgers, along with receivers Jeremy Hyde, Ronnie Clark and Cikia Shanks, offensively.

Martin said the Eagles worked on expanding their passing game in spring practice.

“We worked on stretching the field vertically,” Martin said. “We threw the ball deep seven or eight times. We didn’t throw the ball deep seven or eight times all season last year.”

Martin also said the defensive line shined in the scrimmage against Chilton County. He gave credit to linemen Jerry Smith, Terrence Howell and Tony Elkins for helping keep Chilton County in check.

Martin also said Skylar Wachs played well in his first game at middle linebacker.

“I thought we competed hard,” Martin said. “We’ve been competing against ourselves since last November. It was nice to finally play someone else.”

Calera dressed 78 players in the scrimmage. Martin said he’s excited about the growth in the program since he took over in 2009.

“We have 78 coming out of spring,” Martin said. “That’s pretty good for a Class 4A school. I feel comfortable with where we are coming out of spring practice.”