Patriots look sharp in scrimmage against David Crockett
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Jefferson County entered Tuesday’s contest against David Crockett having not practiced in four days.
You wouldn’t have been able to tell watching the Patriots scrimmage.
Jefferson County scored three plays into the scrimmage and were off-and-running from there. The Patriots varsity scored all six times they had the ball and held Crockett to just one touchdown.
Despite the success, Jefferson County coach Spencer Riley still said his team has things to improve on before the regular season starts next Friday evening at Oak Ridge.
“Overall, it was okay,” Riley said. “We hadn’t practiced in four days, so I expected some mistakes and busts. We didn’t get lined up right at times and had busts in the offensive line. For being off four days, it was an okay day.”
The scrimmage started with a bang for the Patriots as Dallas Williamson took the third play of the contest 49 yards for a touchdown.
All four running backs got in the mix in the scrimmage as Omarian MIlls had multiple long runs, Williamson caught a touchdown pass and scored another rushing touchdown, Shawn Jackson had a rushing touchdown from 65 yards and Skylar Thomas caught a screen and took it 65 yards and then scored on the next play from five yards out.
“We’re going to run the football, you’re going to have to figure out how to stop it and we’re not afraid to throw it deep either,” Riley said. “That’s what we’re going to do offensively. We’re just going to try and be solid at what we do. We don’t care what everyone else does. We want to be good at what we do.”
Two of the running backs also did it on the defensive side of the ball as Mills had two interceptions while Williamson had a pick of his own.
“When you have athletes, you have to play them on both sides of the ball,” Riley said. “We’re trying to find a way to get all of our running backs on the field offensively and defensively. They’re some of the best athletes we have on the field.”
One question mark heading into the season for Jefferson County is at the quarterback position. Both sophomore quarterbacks, Mason Henderson and Jackson Osborne, got reps with the varsity and had moments of success. Henderson threw a 25-yard touchdown to Williamson, while Osborne threw a touchdown to Bryson Letterman.
For Riley, he noted that both had moments but that one didn’t separate themself from the other as week one approaches.
“They did okay,” Riley said. “Nothing really set one apart from the other. Nobody has taken the reign to be the starter. We may go into week one and play two quarterbacks. We may not. I don’t know. A lot of decision making to be made between now and next Friday.”
Defensively, the front seven really shined for the Patriots. David Crockett never got the run game going as Jefferson County had multiple defenders on the ball carrier each time they attempted to break through in the run game.
“We feel like that’s where our strength is,” Riley said. “We have to get pressure on the quarterback from the defensive line and linebackers to help our backend.The best pass coverage is a pass rush.”
Specifically on the defense, Emmitt Newman was in the backfield all scrimmage long as he looks to build off a solid season last year. With Williamson at linebacker alongside Newman, teams will have to choose on what to do to try and prevent one or both of those guys from wreaking havoc in the backfield.
“Our outside backers are pretty talented,” Riley said. “If you want to run away from one of them, the other is just as talented. It’s a pick your poison thing.”
Not playing in a jamboree, Jefferson County will now have a week and a half before week one when they travel to take on a strong Oak Ridge team.
For now, Riley wants to see his team continue to get in shape and just focus on the little things.
“We just need to solidify some things and practice a little more consistently,” Riley said.

