GENTRY — Gentry coach Brian Little came away from Tuesday’s scrimmage against West Fork pleased with his defense.

But the Pioneers offense will need to make some improvements before Gentry hosts Colcord, Okla., on Sept. 2 in the season opener.

“We just gave up one defensive touchdown, just a blown coverage,” Little said. “But we threw them a pick and they scored on it and they had a field goal.”

That translated into West Fork 17, Gentry 7 on the scoreboard.

But Little came away with some positives, pointing to several individuals who saw almost no varsity experience last season.

“One kid who saw very little time as a sophomore and he didn’t come off the field last night,” Little said. “Trae Wilkins handled it really well. His conditioning has been really good.”

Wilkins (5-foot-11, 218 pounds) played on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Little also singled out receiver Dylan Ochs (5-10, 141) and defensive back Jordan Cousins (5-8, 153) as two more juniors with little varsity experience who stood out Tuesday.

Senior quarterback Austin Millsap, who is replacing a three-year starter, admitted things didn’t go as well in the scrimmage as he’d hoped.

“I’ve got to get better at making decisions and making my reads,” Millsap said.

However, junior running back Tanner Coy (5-6, 161) said the Pioneers must also give Millsap a little more time.

“They were getting a lot of heat on him,” Coy said. “But I thought our offensive line did a better job in the second half.”

The Gentry offense moved the ball at times, racking up almost 250 yards of total offense. However, the Pioneers managed just one score and that’s the key, Little said.

“Moving the ball is great, but you’ve got to move it into the end zone,”Little said. “We stopped ourselves some. We had a couple of turnovers.”

Little also said the offense converted four of 10 chances on third down, including a pair of thirdand-long situations, which was encouraging.

“We made mistakes, but they were correctable mistakes and I think overall we’re pleased with where our kids are,” Little said.

One area of focus between now and the season opener will be offensive line play, Little said.

“Those guys are unique and they’ve got to play together,” Little said. “They have to gel as a unit.”

But Little saw pretty much what he expected from the defense, which is anchored by senior linebackers Tyler Rosenthal (5-9, 222) and Eathen Ramsey (6-0, 214).

“We’ve got some good size up front, a couple big defensive ends and our inside ‘backers are big,” Little said.

However, there are still a few position battles up for grabs with a little more than a week before the opener.

Coy and Kolby Rankin (5-7, 150) are splitting time at running back, while Ramsey and Rosenthal are sharing fullback duties. In addition, senior Kevin Scherer (6-5, 231) and Tre Porter (6-2, 216) are also splitting time at tight end.

“I’m not really ready to name a one or a two at those spots yet,” Little said.

The scrimmage also allowed the Pioneers to get out a few nerves, Coy said.

“It was the first time to see someone in a different color jersey,” Coy said. “It’s good to get those nerves out before next Thursday.”

Sports, Pages 11 on 09/01/2010