Oklahoma’s high school football season is a mere two weeks away (or one for some), but many teams first partake in scrimmages to get players accustomed to game speed again and to finalize any depth chart issues before the season opener.
Lawton High did just that on Thursday night at Cameron Stadium, welcoming Edmond North for a two-part exhibition. The teams alternated every 12 plays for several possessions for the first half, followed by a one-quarter scrimmage with a running clock.
Here are some of the highlights from the Wolverines’ first action of 2018:
Reed breaks out
It didn’t take long for newcomer Chateau Reed to prove he is for real.
The junior showed a bit of brilliance on offense and defense, catching a touchdown pass and intercepting a pass during Part 1 of the scrimmage.
His score came on the Wolverines’ first 12-play drive when senior quarterback Kyler Jenderseck found him in the end zone for a 9-yard strike. It was Reed’s first catch of three.
Reed transferred in this year from Fairbanks, Alaska, where caught 15 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns for the Lathrop Malemutes.
He wasn’t done there, though, for he picked off Edmond North quarterback Colby Entwistle on the Huskies’ second drive. The play probably would’ve resulted in his second touchdown of the day had it not been blown dead before he reached the end zone.
LHS coach Ryan Breeze has been eager to see Reed in action against opponents other than his teammates, and he wasn’t disappointed.
“He’s got a chance to be really, really good,” Breeze said. “He’s a deep threat, and he’s also pretty shifty once you get the ball in his hands. We’re tickled pink to have him, and I think he’s going to have a really big year.”
Quarterback carousel
Perhaps the biggest storyline surrounding the LHS program is who will end up as quarterback come time for the Wolverines’ season opener against Altus on Thursday, Aug. 30 at Cameron Stadium.
All three quarterbacks in the running — Jenderseck, Eric Wiley Jr. and Donovan Dorsey — got the opportunity to plead their case on the field against Edmond North, and though Breeze’s goal was to identify the starter after the first scrimmage, they didn’t make his job easy.
Each completed more than 50 percent of their passes, most of which went for 10 yards or more. Combined, the trio threw 15 first-down passes.
“They all put the ball on the money,” Breeze said. “I was pleased with that because if those three are putting the ball on the money like that, with our running we’re going to be really, really hard to stop on offense. All three made a lot of really good throws and got the ball where we wanted it. We had a few too many drops, but we’ll fix that — it’s still early.”
Needless to say, Breeze isn’t ready to choose the man who will lead LHS into battle quite yet. He hopes he and the coaching staff will have a better idea of who to go with by the end of next week’s road scrimmage against Ardmore.
“We’ll evaluate the film and look at everything,” Breeze said. “We would like to, in a perfect world, pick somebody and let them grow this week and let the team rally around them for Week 1. All of them looked really good — it’s not like one of them played their way out of it. We’ll evaluate over the weekend and see what we can do.”
Opportunistic defense
Breeze expects great things from his defense, and it proved exactly why he should be optimistic.
Despite giving up some yardage to the physical offense of Edmond North, the LHS defense never broke. During the 12-play scrimmage, the Wolverines forced three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — and turned the Huskies over on downs on multiple occasions.
The first interception came on the second play of the scrimmage, courtesy of senior Eddie Austin. Edmond North recovered from the early blunder and drove deep into LHS territory but was turned away inside the 20-yard line.
Busted coverage allowed the Huskies to tally a 70-yard touchdown pass on their second drive, but that was about all they would get until the one-quarter scrimmage.
“We lost sight in the opening series after getting an interception on the second play of the game,” Breeze said. “I was really proud of how well we defended the run, with the exception of a few minor busts there in the running clock game. Overall, we played really, really well defensively.
“I was pleased with the way the secondary tackled. We ran to the football well on the back end, and it was very promising.”
The Huskies “won” the one-quarter portion of the scrimmage, 6-0, scoring on a 10-yard pass with 3:48 remaining. The Wolverines turned the ball over on downs at the Edmond North 45-yard line to end the 12-minute period.
Davis in mid-season form
Miles Davis is one of the best running backs in the state, and though he had limited touches during the scrimmage, he made the most of his carries.
Davis recorded only seven carries, but he racked up 102 yards, most of which came on a 56-yard touchdown run down the right sideline. Six of his carries went for 5 yards or more, with four going beyond 10 yards.
“It was good seeming him shake loose — he’s so talented,” Breeze said.