BRADLEY CENTRAL running back Logan Fetzner lowers his head against McMinn Central defenders for a gain during scrimmage action against the Chargers Saturday, at Bear Stadium.
Bradley hosted numerous teams from across the area in a 10-play, round-robin format with short breathers in between.
Floyd saw the usual early-season miscues, but said the main goal was to give the Bears an abundance of looks from several offensive and defensive variations.
“There is always stuff when you don’t game plan for opponents. One of the things we wanted to see was a lot of different offenses and we saw that,” the Bears head coach said.
Bradley failed to score against Brainerd after a solid drive took the Bears to the Panthers’ 1-yard line. An interception at the goal line put an end to the threat.
The Bears found paydirt during their second session of the night, this time against McMinn Central. Bradley, under the direction of Bryce Copeland, moved to the Chargers’ 5-yard line in nine plays. L.J. Goodridge capped the offensive effort scoring off tackle.
Defensively, the Bears held the Chargers out of the endzone stopping McMinn Central on the 15.
“Sometimes we were out of alignment defensively, but our kids played hard. I think they played physical. Offensively we moved the ball well and we are finding guys like Baylor Terrell who will be able to fill a void we have on offense from last year. The biggest thing is we moved the ball and we are learning. We are learning on the run,” Floyd said.
Copeland engineered another Bears’ TD on the sixth offensive play against the Hardin Valley Hawks. Copeland hooked up with Cal Pickel for a 16-yard scoring strike. Keith Wilson took over under center on the seventh play of the series and handed off to Logan Fetzner who scored on the ninth play.
“There are lots of positives, but there are also lots of negatives. The biggest bad part is we play in 13 days and we have to fix things quick. When you go against yourself in practice you look good,” Floyd said of the sessions. “This is what we needed. We are like everybody else across the state. We are looking for some competition.”
The Bears ended the 10-play format against South Pittsburgh and again moved the ball swell on occasion. A score against the Pirates was negated by a holding call. Bradley recovered to move to the South Pitt 4-yard line before a motion penalty and incomplete pass ended the jam session.
“I think all the players on every team are having fun right now and that is what it’s all about. You practice to get ready for these and have fun. We try to make sure our kids are having fun during these scrimmages,” said Floyd of the assembly.
The Bears have another multi-team scrimmage Tuesday at Knox Webb before Friday’s jamboree at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.
