The Alexander City Outlook

Cats improving, still need work

As the season nears, Benjamin Russell head coach Danny Horn likes the overall improvement of his football team, but he still wants to see a little more progress from his players, especially on offense.

The Wildcats scrimmaged each other this week and while the offense did have some success, the defense still held the advantage.

“The scrimmage was fair,” Horn said. “At times, the offense moved the ball, but we were not consistent on much of anything. We did have a big play here or there, though. We had a couple of good option plays where Bryce Schuman broke loose. We’re not exactly where I thought we’d be, but we’re learning and still have some time to work.”

The main concern early on continues to be depth for Horn.

“We just don’t have much depth any place on the field,” Horn said. “That really hurts you in practice because you want players to push other players, but at some positions, we don’t have any competition.”

Horn remains pleased with his first 11 on the defensive side of the ball after the scrimmage. From the line to the secondary, he said play was steady and he likes the general quickness of the group.

“Our overall team speed on defense is pretty decent, we just don’t have great size,” Horn said. “The defensive line was pretty strong, the linebackers played fairly well and the secondary was OK, too. I would like to see our backs get a little more physical. A lot of times they’ll be in coverage, but they need to be able to come up and make tackles as well. But altogether, I feel pretty good about that side.”

The coach said he likes how Bryant Horn is developing under center, but added that the freshman passer still needs to make some adjustments.

“I don’t think (Bryant) had too good of a day (at the scrimmage),” Horn said. “He missed a lot of reads, but the offensive line missed some assignments, too, though they played better at the end.

“(Bryant) is doing alright. He is still leaving the pocket too early. He’s got to learn to stay back there as long as he can. Right now, he just needs some experience.”

Horn said the Wildcats mainly run their plays out of four formations. He said he may scale back some and focus on fewer plays out of each set to not only help his young quarterback, but the rest off the offense.

Horn praised the practice work of kickers Jacob Smith, the returning starter, and David Ballard. He expects Smith to handle field goal and punting duties and Ballard to work primarily on kick-offs and long field goal attempts.

Smith, who made four field goals and all of his extra points last season, said he feels comfortable kicking from around a 40-45 yard range. He said his personal best in practice is 55 yards.

Horn also said he’s added more starters from offense and defense to some of the special teams units this year.

This coming Friday, the Wildcats will take on Central-Coosa at the Sportplex in a pre-season jamboree. Horn said toward the middle of next week, he’ll start putting in a gameplan for the opener against Tallassee.