Preseason work underway

By GOOSE LINDSAY

rcsports@bellsouth.net

Preseason fall scrimmages are all about getting better no matter the outcome.

For Harriman head coach Travis Tapp, his Blue Devils may have beat Sequoyah Tuesday night 2-1 in varsity touchdowns scored, but he was anything but happy with his team's performance.

"I'm very disappointed with how we played," Tapp said. "We didn't play with any intensity and we fumbled way too much. You can't win games when you turn the ball over as much as we did tonight."

Harriman's varsity offense had the ball five times Tuesday and ran a total of 30 plays. In those 30 plays, Harriman put the ball on the ground six times with Sequoyah falling on three of the loose balls.

When Harriman wasn't fumbling the ball, they actually moved the ball quite well. The Blue Devils had 100 yards passing, completing 4 of their 7 attempts while the Devils added 83 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Travis Gann completed 1 of 2 passes on the evening and the one completion was a big one as Diego Martin was on the receiving end of a 64-yard pass that set up a three-yard scoring run by Willie Collins.

Mark Chesser went 3 of 5 through the air for 36 yards.

Brandon Williams led the Blue Devils with 32 yards on four carries while C.J. Anderson added 29 yards on five carries.

While Tapp was disappointed in the play of his offense, he did feel a bit better about his defense. Sequoyah opened the evening driving 70 yards for a touchdown, but the Chiefs amassed only 35 yards of total offense in their final three drives of the night.

"Our defense actually played better against Sequoyah than they did in our first scrimmage against Austin-East," Tapp said. "We didn't play well at first, but the intensity did pick up some on the defensive side of the ball."

The biggest highlight for the defense was actually the game-winning score as senior DE Christian Pryor picked off a pass and returned it 18 yards for a score.

Harriman's defense also came up with three sacks on the day as Michael Steinmetz, C.J. Anderson and Reggie Skinner all brought down the quarterback.

Harriman's final full preseason scrimmage will be Friday evening at home against Stone Memorial. The Devils will also play one quarter against Oliver Springs next Friday in the 2008 Roane County Football Jamboree at Rockwood.

"We've got to keep working hard to get better before we open the season against Monterey (Friday, Aug. 22)," Tapp said. "I think we learned tonight that you have to be ready to go every time you step on the field."