Team News - 2017 First Spring Scrimmage Report

Anyone that attended yesterday's scrimmage expecting to resolve some of the items on last week's "What to Look for This Spring" article were sorely disappointed. Offensive lineman Jake Duncan was not dressed and quarterback Paul Dooley was no where to be seen. The latter issue left just rising senior Pat Moriarty and redshirt freshman Mike Alley to handle all of the snaps the entire day.

Some observations from yesterday's first spring scrimmage:

• Despite some discussion of having Eerin Young move to the secondary, he played with the offense in his slot receiver position where he was the Golden Rams' third most productive receiver last season. Alley connected with EY on a touchdown in the scrimmage.
• Former reserve running back Anthony Brown was in the secondary and Moriarty and Tyler Karpinski took advantage of his inexperience back there.
• Cody Boozel appears to be a favorite target in the passing game, especially to Alley.
• It appears that Jarey Elder has moved from the shark linebacker spot to safety. And he looked quite comfortable back there as he was directing his team mates in coverage and stepped in front of a receiver for an interception.
• Running back Jarel Elder looked as sharp as ever, slipping through narrow holes for nice gains.
• Valley Forge Military Academy transfer Mark Webb looked good at defensive tackle after sitting out last season.
• Defensive back Ryan Panella had himself a pick and Jordan Burney looks ready to step in after winning the defensive scout team award last season.
• Unfortunately the kicking game was rather inconsistent.
• Most talked about among the many fans in attendance was the performance of 5'10, 210lb Trent Thomas. The walk-on fullback from Pleasant Valley ran with a determination not just of a guy trying to make the team, but of a player needing to pick up a first down in a short yardage situation, something the Golden Rams could use. As a wrestler, Thomas finished his senior season with a record of 33-6, winning his region and qualifying for states.

There is another scrimmage scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 am in John A. Farrell Stadium.