Huntingdon makes strides in second scrimmage

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team held its second preseason scrimmage on Wednesday night.

Practicing under the lights at Samford Stadium, the offense and defense squared off for about two hours. Head coach Mike Turk said he saw things he liked on both sides of the ball.

"It's always tricky to evaluate a scrimmage, because what is good for one side of the ball is bad for the other," Turk said. "The defense did a lot of good things tonight and forced several turnovers. Offensively, the troubling thing is the turnovers. I don't know how many interceptions we threw tonight, but it was way too many. We can't do that.

"We have some new people and new parts on offense and trying to get everyone on the same page takes a little while. But we were able to execute a few things and we had times when we moved the ball and executed like we were supposed to. We have to continue doing that and eliminate the bad plays."

With a group of experienced leaders in the backfield, Turk is counting on his running backs and H-Backs to give the offense a boost. The Hawks return their top two rushers from last season in juniors Jay Ware and John Iwaniec.

Ware rushed for 747 yards and eight touchdowns on 139 carries in 2014 and Iwaniec added 675 yards and eight touchdowns on 140 carries. Against North Carolina Wesleyan, the two became just the fifth pair of Huntingdon running backs to rush for 100 yards in a game.

"John and Jay are both experienced backs and they did a lot of good things for us last season," Turk said. "Iwaniec has been out during the preseason, but we expect him back any day now. He probably could have gone tonight, but we decided to hold him out and let some of the younger guys get some needed reps.

"I'm really proud of the way Jay is beginning to play. He has really begun to run the ball like a big physical back. He's still not quite where we want him, but he showed us some good things in the scrimmage."

Sophomore running backs Lorenzo James and Vic Jerald also return with game experience.

At H-Back, senior Darius Dawsey returns for his third season as a starter. Dawsey, who was a second-team All-Conference selection the past two seasons, enters the year with 40 career receptions for 718 yards and eight touchdowns. He was third on the team with 23 receptions and five touchdowns last season.

"Darius is a proven player for us," Turk said. "He has been a solid player every year and we expect him to be a solid player again this year."

Behind Dawsey, senior Aaron Williams and freshman Jaeison Jefferson add depth.

The Hawks will begin to move out of preseason mode on Thursday and start preparing for the season opener with Louisiana College on Sept. 5. Huntingdon will practice just once on Thursday, taking the field at 3 p.m.