Sports
Vikings Football Loses Scrimmage To Bellmore-JFK
Head Coach Del Gais was looking for players to fight for roster positions on the depth chart during the scrimmage, but realizes adjustments are necessary.
In the preseason the outcome does not matter.
That turned out to be a very good thing for second year Head Coach Joe Del Gais and his staff. Schreiber was defeated by a talented, larger and stronger team in JFK-Bellmore on Wednesday morning.
"It was more of a practice than a scrimmage," Del Gais reckoned.
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Coaches stood on the field behind their offenses and defenses yelling out where to run, players rotated in between downs, and the ball started at the defense's forty-five yard line during each position without a kick-off.
Del Gais blames the loss on lack of execution.
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"They were a good team, but we still didn't execute," Del Gais said. "Offensively and defensively, it was a tough game."
With that being said, the running backs excelled during the matchup. Shawn McKoy's small frame constantly pushed through defenders and Blaise Stoddard was always the first to lay down a hit from the fullback position. McKoy's speed and agility is unmatched on the team.
The passing game, though, was lacking. Tommy Maruscak, the first string quarterback, could be compared to a young Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, but threw an interception late in the scrimmage to a middle linebacker of Bellmore-JFK.
"He's shorter than most of the defenders, but still manages to impress with his strong arm," wideout Jon Weber said, who made two catches during the game.
Maruscak position's, however, is not in question.
"The goal was to see some of our kids fight for spots," Del Gais said.
Another aspect of preseason scrimmages is seeing how the athletes perform with their pads on and shoelaces tied. Every player goes all out to give their best. That's what Del Gais was looking for.
"We're going to put all of [the lack of execution] together by practice," Del Gais said.
Practice has been an essential aspect of this team. It has united all the players as teammates, it's made the coaches closer, and has made the team more talented.
In fact, practice gave the Vikings the toughness to stick around against JFK-Bellmore as well as the toughness to beat North Shore 14-13 in their first scrimmage on Monday.
But then again, it's just preseason.
