FARMINGTON -- The Cardinals scored on their first three offensive possessions to win the Aug. 21 scrimmage against Gravette.
Farmington coach Mike Adams said he was pleased with his team's offensive performance, especially in the passing game as senior quarterback Trey Waggle found success with a variety of receivers, including 6-foot-4 senior Xavier Staten.
"I thought our offense played really well," Adams said. "I thought Trey had a good night throwing it, and I thought our receivers had a good night catching it."
Adams was not as pleased with his team's running game, although Reid Turner scored three touchdowns.
"I was disappointed in our run game," he said. "I thought we had some individual effort plays out of our tailback position that made a difference. But on the inside plays, we did not do a very good job blocking, so I'm disappointed in that."
Gravette looked crisp on its opening drive of the one-half scrimmage. The Lions marched 70 yards and capped the drive with a short scoring run by Bailey Soule'. Gravette got several nice plays from senior running back Austin O'Brien and new quarterback Tajae White.
Lions coach Bill Harrelson said he saw some bright spots that the team can build on leading into the season opener this week.
"I thought we executed fairly well, but we still have a lot of improvements," Harrelson said. "We had a lot of breakdowns especially late in the game when we got tired, so we've got to get in better condition."
O'Brien looked sharp on run plays and had a 70-yard scoring run to highlight the Lions' offense.
Greenland also participated in the scrimmage and faced Gravette for two eight-minute sessions. Pirates coach Lee Larkan had mixed reviews for his team.
"We did OK," he said. "We played about like I thought we would. Our offensive line was offensive, but we really just wanted to come out here and practice a little bit, so it was good for us."
Farmington opened its regular season at home on Tuesday when it hosted Prairie Grove in the annual Battle of Highway 62. Gravette and Greenland each have regular Friday, Sept. 1, openers as Gravette travels to Ozark, and Greenland hosts longtime rival West Fork.
Sports on 08/30/2017