By Moses Leos III
The spectacle of football returned to Lehman High Saturday as the Lobo football team held its annual Blue & Silver scrimmage at Lobo Field.
But amid the revelry, head coach Todd Raymond and the Lobos continue their quest to improve as the season rapidly approaches.
Saturday’s scrimmage completed the team’s second official day in full gear. Despite some miscues, Raymond said the squad has progressed since day one.
“We’re a lot farther along. We’re doing stuff that’s pretty advanced. There’s a lot of things going on,” he said.
On the offensive side, the Lobos worked to advance cohesion between returning veterans and newcomers.
Quarterback Jacob Zamora said the team is working to build a “team bond” to advance success.
He said, “The team is young and everyone is still getting used to each other.”
That extends to working with wide receivers, which Zamora said he is working to build chemistry with during practice.
Keeping in-sync proved a challenge in the Lobo first team offense’s first set of plays. Dropped balls and missed assignments kept the Lobos from stringing big plays together.
The Lobos rectified those issues in the second series. Utilizing an up-tempo offense, the Lobos moved down the field.
Lehman junior running back Bryan Mendoza believed the team “loosened up” in the second part.
“We did good. We were a little rusty, even though it’s our second day in pads,” Mendoza said. “I didn’t expect big things, it went okay. It went pretty good.”
While Raymond said the Lobos must take advantage of opportunities, he said most of the miscues are fixable.
“That’s the stuff we can get turned around,” he said.
But it was the defense that stole the show on Saturday. Led by their experienced backfield, Lehman’s defense kept the first string offense out of the end zone.
Their tenacity kept pace with Lehman’s up-tempo offense, keeping them in check.
Raymond lauded his defensive backs, especially his upperclassmen Edward Arana, Austin Lakey and Adrian Martinez.
“They aren’t real big, but they’re little missiles, they fly around,” Raymond said. “That’s what we’re hoping for. That they can get it going.”
But for Raymond, the ability of the defense to help the offense progress will be key as the preseason forges ahead. He cited the defense’s progress and said they are coming along at a quicker pace than expected.
“They make us better on offense, because we have to adapt and adjust at a quicker pace,” Raymond said. “It makes for some ugly moments, but it allows us coaching moments to make them better.”
For Martinez, improving on the miscues, primarily swarm tackling and conditioning, will be the focus into the next week of practice. Sophomore cornerback Caleb Priestly said the offense was trying to work the defense, but they held their ground.
It came down to the defense getting their jobs done. Priestly said discipline and doing the “small things right” is the next step.
But it was a groundbreaking moment for Priestly, who played on varsity for the first time in the Blue and Silver scrimmage.
“It was intense out here,” he said. “Having the crowd out here had me pumped up a little bit to be out here and play football.”
