Dogs showcase team

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston Bulldogs held the annual Red and Black Scrimmage on Friday night at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.

Other than curious fans that make their way to the practice field during the week, it was the public's first glimpse of the 2006 Bulldog football team.

The intrasquad scrimmage featured game-like conditions with referees and play clocks.

The Bulldog team was split up into two units, and, for the first time the freshman team had a chance to scrimmage with the junior varsity under the lights.

In addition to being a scrimmage for the fans, the coaches also use the opportunity to clean up any problem areas that they see.

Bulldog quarterback Chase Ferrell drops back to pass.

Bulldog quarterback Chase Ferrell drops back to pass.

Overall, Sikeston head coach Jerry Dement was pleased with what he saw out of his team.

"We were flying around to the football and that's what excites me more than anything," said Dement. "We had some kids just wanting to get after it. Defensively we flew around and tried to hit some people. We're making some mental errors on both sides of the ball which is what you expect this early. But overall I had a pretty positive outlook."

Starting things off, with the ball was spotted at the offense's 30-yard line, junior tailback Byron Davis showed the ability to break tackles as he broke off a 36-yard run.

Quarterback Chase Ferrell completed two of his first three passes, but both were brought back by penalties.

Senior running back Jerod Scott eventually ran in for a touchdown from six yards out.

Sikeston wide receiver Joey Williams tries to gain more yards.

Sikeston wide receiver Joey Williams tries to gain more yards.

On the next series, the Bulldog freshman team took on the Bulldog junior varsity team.

The freshmen kept the J.V. team out of the end zone during the series. The freshmen team punched one into the end zone on just their second play from scrimmage as Eli Jackson sprinted 68 yards for the score for one of the most exciting plays of the night.

Jackson took the misdirection handoff to the left, juked a couple defenders, and then out-ran the rest of the J.V. defense to the end zone on an impressive display of speed.

Jackson finished with 82 yards on three carries. Jarian Wims picked up 27 yards on two carries and Jaqualin Wiggins and Jerome Hatcher each had 20 yards on two carries.

"The freshmen kids came over and got some good practice," said Dement. "They gave our guys a good look and hopefully we gave them a good look."

The junior varsity team was led in rushing by Vince Howard, who had 36 yards on six carries. Courvirseya Strickland followed up with 10 yards on two carries.

Junior varsity quarterback Charlie Bohannon was 5-of-10 passing for 65 yards with an interception.

After the freshman/J.V. scrimmage, the varsity went back on the field for defense. Against the Bulldog J.V., the varsity held firm, causing several fumbles with Brandon Wright intercepting one pass.

The varsity offense took the field one last time and provided the Bulldog fans with some of the most exciting plays of the night.

Ferrell completed a 60-yard bomb to Austin Williams, who tip-toed the sideline and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone. David Stovall helped spring the run with a nice block downfield.

Then Davis went to work.

He busted a 68-yard run down the left sideline, simply out-running the defenders.

Then, on the next play coming back the other way, Davis broke free again. He broke a tackle with a sensational spin move, cut back across the grain towards the middle of the field to make a couple defenders miss, and out-ran the rest of the defense for a 70-yard touchdown.

Overall, Davis finished with 194 yards on just four carries. He also had a 15-

yard reception.

"Byron Davis is a very electric kind of player," said Dement. "But I thought most backs when they got their chances really did some good things. We've got several kids making things happen. Jerod, Mike Payne, Chase -- I can't name everybody, but we had a lot of kids trying to prove a point and do good things. I had pretty positive feelings."

Ferrell was 3-of-5 passing for 89 yards with a touchdown. Payne, who took a few snaps at quarterback, was 1-2 passing for 15 yards.

Payne also ran for five yards and caught a pass for 15 yards.

Scott carried three times for 31 yards. Gerald Winfield caught two passes for 20 yards.

"We've got a lot of kids that need a lot of work," said Dement. "Obviously we've got some things we need to work on and clean up. We've got two weeks to do it. We feel pretty good about it."

The Bulldogs didn't come out of the scrimmage completely healthy.

Senior lineman Joe Moore, a starter the past two seasons, injured his foot and had to have it wrapped in ice.

The extent of the injury was unknown at press time.

"He tweaked a foot he hurt over the summer," said Dement. "Other than that I think we came out okay. We just got a little hot and tired and you expect that when it's this hot and humid. I'm really pleased. We appreciate the fan support."