Nenaber says scrimmage productive for Rams

Maricopa football coach Cory Nenaber was encouraged by what he saw from his team in Thursday night’s scrimmage at Phoenix Carl Hayden High School.

“There are definitely some bright spots, some things I thought we did pretty well,” Nenaber said.

In the three-team, controlled-scrimmage format, the Rams’ offensive and defensive units took the field for 10-play series on a rotating basis against the Carl Hayden Falcons and Phoenix Maryvale Panthers.

“I thought we played pretty well against both of them,” Nenaber said. “It was good competition for us. They are both 5A schools.”

Maryvale, in particular, provided a challenging test for the Rams, who will compete again this year in the rugged Class 4A-II East Sky Region. Maryvale finished 7-4 last season and qualified for the state playoffs in Class 5A-I, which is Arizona’s largest-school division.

“They have a pretty good nucleus,” Nenaber said about the Panthers. “They are pretty big up front. It definitely was a good measuring stick at this point.”

Nenaber said he saw some good things from the Rams on both sides of the ball.

“Our defensive backs did very well,” the Maricopa coach said. “Our defense, as a whole, flew around, and we tackled pretty well.

“Offensively, we moved the ball pretty well most of the time. The biggest thing I was looking for was us getting off the ball a little bit and blocking the right guys – and taking care of the football. We did that for the most part.”

Nenaber mentioned several players who made an impact in the scrimmage.

“Travis Brown played really well defensively at safety,” Nenaber said. “I thought all of our linebackers played really well. Offensively, watching the film, I thought Phil Kessler did pretty well at offensive tackle. Randel Barber and Tim Samuels both ran the ball really well.”

The Maricopa coach said he is pleased with the overall progress his team has exhibited through the first two weeks of practice.

“We are definitely where we want to be right now – not that there isn’t room for improvement,” Nenaber said. “At this point in the season, we are right about where I think we should be.”

The next training-camp measuring stick will take place Thursday evening, when the Rams will line up for the annual Red-Black Soda Scrimmage at the Maricopa High School stadium.

“Our goal is to get better every day,” Nenaber said. “The intra-squad scrimmage will be good for some of those guys who are fighting for playing time, and for some of those younger guys who are fighting to make varsity, to get into live action and show us what they can do. We are going to try to split the team up as evenly as possible and see what we can do on both sides.”

Fans who attend the 6 p.m. Red-Black Scrimmage are asked to donate 12-packs of soda, which the Maricopa Rams Football Booster Club will re-sell at regular-season games. Fans also can donate bottled water or sports drinks.

The regular season begins for Maricopa with three road games (at Buckeye on Sept. 3, at Buckeye Youngker on Sept. 10 and at Page on Sept. 17). The Rams’ home opener is scheduled for Sept. 24 against Gilbert Higley.

Photo by Tom Kessler