Defensive back Jeremy Murphy (in red) gets a hand on the ball to knock it away from receiver Taylor Belsterling in Wednesday's scrimmage.
Defensive back Jeremy Murphy (in red) gets a hand on the ball to knock it away from receiver Taylor Belsterling in Wednesday's scrimmage.
Posted: Aug 20, 2014

First scrimmage features mixed results for Huntingdon

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Head coach Mike Turk saw good and bad in the Huntingdon football team's first scrimmage of the preseason.

Scrimmaging under the lights at Samford Stadium on Wednesday night, the Hawks made plays on both sides of the ball but Turk said there is a long way to go before the season opener at Louisiana College on Sept. 6.

"The thing about any scrimmage is when one side does well, it's going to be bad for the other side," Turk said. "Everybody goes through that this time of year and it's kind of hard to say where you are after the first scrimmage. If you're defense beats your offense, you don't know if it's because your defense is really good or if your offense is really bad. We did some things I was pleased with on offense and defense and we did a lot of things we have to improve on."

Offensive execution was Turk's chief concern Wednesday night.

"We didn't execute very well. That's how I evaluate us offensively right now," Turk said. "Throwing and catching and making the right reads, we missed a lot. Our quarterbacks missed a lot tonight.

"We have to get to the point offensively where we are making the plays that are there for us. I believe if we execute well enough, we can move the football against whoever we play. We've proven that over the years and right now it's just a matter of getting to the point where we are able to do that."

As for positives to build on, Turk liked the effort and execution he saw out of the defense and special teams.

"I would say two bright spots were our defense and kicking game," Turk said. "We kicked and punted well, and operationally we were pretty smooth. I'm very proud of our defensive mentality. The attitude and effort on that side of the ball is really good and they're playing with a lot of energy. So, that is encouraging."

The Hawks return to the field Thursday morning at 9 a.m. for the second two-a-day practice of the preseason. Huntingdon will practice in helmets and shoulder pads in the morning before working on the kicking game in the afternoon.