By Moses Leos III
Physical play dominated the field Friday as the Hays Rebels and San Antonio Madison Mavericks locked horns in a scrimmage at Shelton Stadium.
While Madison edged out Hays in a live two-quarter scrimmage, Hays High players were not shocked by the physical nature of their first game against someone else.
“It’s football. It means playing physical,” Hays High wide receiver Dustin Bruno said. “That’s what we came out here to do. What we put on these pads to do. It’s no shock.”
The physical tone of the scrimmage was a constant theme. Strong defensive play was evident, with both teams delivering big hits to the opposing offense.
It was Hays’ offense that found the end zone during the untimed portion. A pass from Hays quarterback Braeden Kent found Bruno, who leapt over a defender for the score.
For Bruno, who has made several catches in midair during the preseason, working to out-leap his opponent is his mindset.
“I always think he’s not going to beat me to this jump ball,” Bruno said. “I go up and get it, and I come down with it.”
But with the increased intensity came several minor skirmishes. Hays High offensive lineman Logan Pool was involved in one skirmish, where he took offense to a Madison defensive lineman tackling Rebel quarterback Braeden Kent after the whistle.
Pool said the skirmishes were result of players being “overly emotional” and that they were protecting their teammates, as was in his case.
“I’ve been through my entire football career with Braeden. He’s like my brother,” Pool said. “When the whistle blows and someone hits him, it angers me.”
But for Pool, who understood his foul would have caused a penalty, keeping composure and playing between the whistles is imperative.
“I just lost my cool,” he said. “It was a mistake on my part.”
During the live quarters, Madison took the opening possession and marched 56 yards, aided by a pass interference call on Hays’ defense.
But the Rebel defense held, limiting the Mavs to only a 31-yard field goal. The Mavericks led 3-0 but couldn’t generate much more momentum from there.
Hays’ defense stymied the Madison offense, holding the Mavericks scoreless the rest of the way. It was Hays’ defense that scored a safety, giving Hays its only points of the scrimmage.
Linebacker Coby Brown said the defense started off a little slow early on. The group regained their senses as the scrimmage pressed forward. Big plays, such as an interception by DaDa Crayton in the untimed part, helped boost confidence. Brown said the energy went up in the second half of the scrimmage.
“That motivated us and got us going,” Brown said.
Hays’ offense worked to push the tempo during the timed portion. Hays utilized the throwing ability of Kent, along with the running ability of Cody Gandy.
“It’s great to have Cody, who’s escapability and power when he runs is crazy,” Poole said. He added that the Rebels’ new blocking system helped generate holes for Gandy to run through.
But as the Rebel offense maintained drives, they couldn’t find ways to close them. Twice in the first quarter Hays did drive into the red zone, with Hays unable to put points on the scoreboard.
Bruno attributed struggles to fatigue and penalties. Pool said conditioning played a factor, as the Rebels worked to speed up their high-tempo offense.
“We have to work on conditioning, work on getting faster, getting downfield,” Pool said. “We need to be able to stay fresh, to keep in there and finish.”
On defense, Brown said tackling will be important moving on.
“We had a rough time with that, and conditioning,” Brown said. “We have to be a lot faster, and ready for what’s coming next before the other team does.”
Hays will travel to scrimmage Pflugerville Hendrickson on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
