By Jack Walker
Staff Writer
The Howe Bulldogs closed out their two-game scrimmage season last Thursday, traveling to S&S to take on the Rams and the Era Hornets in a three way tussle.
The Howe junior varsity offense took the field first and Bryce Mosier punctured the Era defense for a pair of touchdown runs in the 10 plays given to that unit. Mosier scored on the third play of the scrimmage then added a 60-yard run for another score. JV quarterback Travis Jones had a 45-yard run for the Bulldogs as they shredded the Hornet defense.
The Howe varsity offense then took the field and they had little difficulty in moving the ball against the Era defense.
Chase Fountaine connected with Casey Davis on a pass play good for about 15 yards as the Bulldogs moved the chains early. A couple of plays later Towner Bailey broke free up the middle and raced in for a score.
On Howe's next possession Bailey scored on a long-distance jaunt, finding a big hole in the middle then a nice cutback got him free for the scoring run. Kasy Havens, Michael Karry, Josh Sanford, Logan Price and Cody Mercer were making the clearing blocks to open up the running game and Fountaine was never pressured on his pass plays.
Another highlight play for the Bulldog offense has a Fountaine to Zack Hill connection on a slant play that picked up nice yardage.
As Howe's first team defense took the field against the Rams, it took just one play for the unit to get serious about its work. A nice gain by the Rams on first down was a wake-up call for the Dawg's D. Led by the play of linebacker Casey Davis, Howe completely shut down the Rams offense for the remainder of its time on the field. In one series Davis had a tipped ball, tackle for no gain, then got to the quarterback on the blitz.
Given the heat and humidity on the field the Bulldogs performed well in their final tune up.
We talked with coach Cory Crane after the event.
"I'm really pleased with the progress we made from the Blue Ridge scrimmage to today." We still have a ways to go but we saw a lot of really good things today, starting with the line play on both sides of the ball."
"I think we are coming together as a team and with just a few exceptions, I thought we kept our focus today."
The Bulldogs came out of the scrimmage with no injuries, always a positive, and will go into tonight's opener with everyone healthy.