The Dublin Lions got to test their mettle against the first opponent of the season as they scrimmaged with the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday, Aug. 15 on Cervetto Field.
“It gave us a chance to look at some personnel and we performed pretty well,” said head Dublin football coach/athletic director Greg Hardcastle.
“Defensively, we did some great things,” he added. “The linemen are a lot better than this point last year.” Hardcastle attributes this to his players having a full year in the defensive system by Coach John Ward. They’ve also benefitted from working together during the lineman challenge season this summer.
This collaboration got the Lions in position to make some secondary plays including a near interception against Hamilton. They just need to follow through and capitalize on those opportunities, Hardcastle said.
Coach Hardcastle said Hamilton offered a good challenge at the start of the season as they went to semifinals last year, which offered them more weeks on the field and chances to get experience for their younger players.
One heartbreak came when senior quarterback Alex Teten went down with a collarbone injury in the scrimmage. He will be on the bench during recovery, leaving sophomore Paxton Loper to step up.
“He wasn’t intimidated,” Hardcastle said of Loper stepping in during the scrimmage. “There are things we’re going to have to work on with him, but he’s intelligent and understands what we’re trying to do. That’s a big plus.”
The Lions face Clyde in their final scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 21 at Clyde. JV will play at 6 p.m. followed by varsity at 7 p.m.
Regular play will begin against DeLeon Bearcats with JV facing them at home Thursday, Aug. 28 and Varsity traveling to Deleon Friday, Aug. 29.