MacArthur running back Nick Mahan looks for room around the right side of the line during Thursday's scrimmage against Bishop McGuinness. (Photo courtesy of The Oklahoman)
OKLAHOMA CITY – There were some positives, however, MacArthur has some work to do before the season gets underway.
The Highlanders' lack of experience, especially on defense, was evident as state runner-up Bishop McGuinness ran away with a 4-1 touchdown advantage in a one-hour scrimmage at Pribil Stadium in Oklahoma City on Thursday night. The teams alternated every 12 plays until both reached 96.
Mac coach Brett Manning attributed his team's performance to youthfulness.
"I think they are good athletes, and I think they'll be solid eventually; hopefully by district time," Manning said. "We're young and we're learning, and tonight was good for us."
It didn't take long for the Irish to find holes in the Highlanders' defense.
Irish running back Dominic Richardson broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run on only the second play of the night, and quarterback Brennan Mullins followed up shortly after with a 60-yard score to give McGuinness a two-touchdown advantage less than five plays into the contest.
The Irish weren't done there, though.
With both teams' backups on the field, McGuinness struck again with another 60-yard touchdown, this time from Carter Pierce.
The Irish averaged more than 10 yards per carry, finishing the night with 234 yards rushing on 23 carries.
Mac slowly improved as the scrimmage went on, giving up only one more score in the final six series, including multiple goal-line stands to end the exhibition.
The Highlanders defended the pass well all night, holding starter Brennan Mullins to only four completions on 12 attempts for 44 yards.
Manning took his squad's unrelenting attitude as a positive moving forward.
"We finished really well and held them out of the end zone, and I think our second go-around with the starters we held them out too," Manning said. "I think after those first scores, we did pretty well.
The Highlanders gained 236 total yards on the night, with their lone score coming on a 41-yard pass from backup quarterback Racer Felter.
Felter led the team with 53 yards on 4-of-11 passing, while starter JR Winningham completed 7 of 11 passes for 37 yards.
Although Winningham completed 63.6 percent of his passes, Manning said there were some throws that were just out of the receivers' reach that the senior normally delivers on target.
"Normally, he makes those throws," Manning said. "I don't know why he was off tonight, but he was. We'll go back and learn from it."
Nick Mahan led the way on the ground with 28 yards on eight carries.
Manning said he was happy with Mahan's tenacity running the ball.
"He hit the holes and ran hard," Manning said. "McGuinness' defense is really good, and we're a little shorthanded on our offensive line, so I think we'll see some good things out of Nick."
Rylan Webb stood out on both sides of the ball, tallying two sacks on defense and recording two receptions for 14 yards at receiver.
Manning said now that his players know what it feels like to play against an opponent other than themselves, he and the coaching staff can start better preparing them for the season, which starts Sept. 1 against city rival Eisenhower.
"Every team is different," Manning said. "You don't game plan for a scrimmage. If we played them in a game, we would have had a different game plan. Our main problem is experience, and we just need a lot of reps. I think we're going to learn from this."
MacArthur returns to the field Aug. 24 for a multi-team scrimmage against Carl Albert, Putnam City North and Mustang at Cameron Stadium.