Bulldogs test new schemes

PERRYVILLE -- Friday night marked the first time high school football teams could square off against someone wearing a different jersey as Sikeston, New Madrid County Central and East Prairie visited Perryville for a jamboree scrimmage.

Starting at the 40-yard line, each team ran 12 plays on offense and defense against each other in the full contact event.

No clock and no score are kept during the scrimmage as the event is mostly used for evaluation of each other's team.

Sikeston, trying a new offensive and defensive scheme, seemed to have some early problems, but as the night wore on, head coach Jerry Dement saw some improvement.

"Once we got started and got our ears pinned back a little bit, we thought we came along and did some good things," said Dement. "It was a good overall effort. I thought we got better defensively as the night went along. We put in a new scheme and it took a little while for the kids to get to game-speed with that. Once they did, I thought we picked it up a notch.

East Prairie running back M.C. Williams finds running room.

"We were a little rough around the edges, which is what you kind of expect in a situation like this. Obviously you want to do things well, but you don't gameplan anything. You just want to look at certain plays and kids in certain situations to see how they respond."

The Bulldogs outscored its three opponents a combined six touchdowns to two, further demonstrating that Sikeston's defense might see some improvement from last season.

The Bulldogs opened the scrimmage playing NMCC. After back-to-back quarterback sacks to start things off, the Bulldogs got a little more comfortable.

Byron Davis and Jerod Scott broke off a couple runs and then Chase Ferrell hit Michael Payne for a 14-yard pass to continue the drive. Five plays later, Tyler Dame bulled in from 1-yard out for the touchdown.

It was the only score the Bulldogs would get against the Eagles.

NMCC then took over offense. Marquese Gates got loose for a 24-yard run to get to the 1-yard line. After a couple runs were stuffed, Tommy Rowe took the fly-sweep wide for the touchdown.

The Bulldogs held the Eagles out of the end zone the rest of the scrimmage.

Defensive back Josh Jackson intercepted a Leslie Williams pass during the scrimmage.

NMCC coach Arlen Pixley also wanted to take a look at the running back position in the scrimmage.

"We wanted to get in here and evaluate a couple positions," said Pixley. "We kind of know where we're at right now with quarterback, line and wide receivers. But running back is an issue and hopefully we resolved that this evening. We got to look at the plays I thought we needed to see. That's what this jamboree is all about. We got out of it what we needed to get out of it."

In the second scrimmage, Sikeston took on East Prairie.

East Prairie started off on offense and was able to reach the end zone in five plays. Sophomore M.C. Williams broke right and scored from 11 yards out.

The Bulldogs managed to hold the Eagles out of the end zone the rest of the scrimmage.

Sikeston then took over on offense and had its most productive offensive series.

Ferrell connected with Davis and Jerod Scott on passes for 15 and 13 yards, respectively. Davis then scored on a 4-yard TD run.

On the very next play, with the ball spotted at the 40-yard line for the next series, Ferrell hit Payne for a 40-yard touchdown.

Six plays later, Sikeston scored on its final play of the scrimmage as Dame scored on a 19-yard run up the middle.

"Offensively we did some good things," said Dement. "We had several different kids contribute instead of relying on one. I always like to see a lot of people doing good things with the football."

In the third scrimmage, Sikeston's defense started off against Perryville.

Sikeston was able to keep the Pirates out of the end zone the entire series. The Bulldogs put together a goal line stand on 1st-and-4 and were still able to keep the shutout.

The Bulldogs did have a few defensive penalties that Dement wants to get corrected.

"We've got to look at the film and we can see more with our defense," said Dement. "It will take a while for the kids to get used to the new scheme and understand what their role is. Just by sideline view I was pleased with our hustle. We had too many penalties, jumping offsides up front. We've got to be more disciplined with that."

Sikeston took over possession on its offensive series. The two biggest plays were through the air as Ferrell connected with Josh Jackson for a 35-yard score and Payne finding Gerald Winfield for a 30-yard score on the final play.

One thing that caught Pixley's eye was the play of some of his freshmen.

"We've got some freshmen -- it's like lighting a sparkler up out here," said Pixley. "Things just glow when those kids get in there. There's not one of them tonight that had one carry for any minus yardage. I was really impressed with the freshmen we brought up here and I was really impressed with our offensive line early in the night. They got a little bit tired towards the end."

East Prairie coach Corey Adkisson was pleased with some of the things he saw from his team as well.

"At times I thought we looked pretty good," said Adkisson. "Obviously I don't think anybody is where they want to be. Defensively we looked okay at times and then times we'd have breakdowns. Offensively I thought we moved the ball okay. We didn't pass the ball too terribly bad for a first-year quarterback. We're happy with where we're at right now, but we've got to get better."

Returning all-state running back Paris Tipler also showed his athletic ability. In both the Perryville and NMCC scrimmages, Tipler scored on the first play. Both runs were impressive as he showed his speed, vision and the ability to break tackles.

"He did a good job when he got some carries," said Adkisson of Tipler. "When the line blocks good up front, he looks good. M.C. Williams didn't look bad back there and Caleb Hatton didn't look bad. I thought Kaleb Williford, a freshman, looked pretty good."