Preseason: Mid-State Scrimmage Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the regular season just days away let's take a look at some standouts in preseason scrimmages:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hillsboro/Stratford</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Burros will be looking for a new QB under 1st year coach, <strong>Jamaal Stewart</strong> and <strong>Jude Ashley</strong> might be their guy, Ashley showed a strong pocket and presence with a nice touch on a deep ball. Versatile slot WR Dondre Ensley will get a ton of touches for the Burro offense. Stratford should be a lot more comfortable with [player_tooltip player_id='906624' first='Jonathan' last='Fredericks'] at QB, the transfer from Hillsboro moves well and throws accuracy on the run, Fredricks currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky. [player_tooltip player_id='2097875' first='Justin' last='Williams'] at edge rusher showed an excellent 1st step and forced a couple of false start penalties.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nashville Christian/Pearl Cohn</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The [player_tooltip player_id='1196806' first='Tate' last='Mathis']/[player_tooltip player_id='933063' first='Kaden' last='Grigsby'] connection should keep the Eagles offense humming despite the loss of star QB Jared Curtis. Speaking of connection Pearl Cohn QB<strong> L.J. Funk</strong> and WR [player_tooltip player_id='1608413' first='Stephen' last='Saulter'] will be one of the best duos in the state. Funk, a Toledo commit has gotten stronger in the offseason and Saulter a Western Kentucky commit is one of the fastest WRs in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ezell-Harding/Maplewood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ezell Harding lost a ton at the skill position and could rely early on their offensive lineman for experience including senior <strong>Jagger Springfield</strong> who leads the group. ATH<strong> Mari Waters </strong>looked to be one of the smallest players on the field for Maplewood but had the most impact, Waters constantly made the 1st and 2nd tacklers miss and made negative gains into positive gains.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cane Ridge/East Nashville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cane Ridge QB <strong>Jayden Mercado</strong> showed good touch on intermediate routes and could be poised for a solid year if he stays healthy. <strong>Alphonso Mansour</strong> is a bit undersized but has good strength at the point of attack and had a sack on the 1st play from scrimmage. Transfer <strong>Micah Graves </strong>should make a huge impact for East, a speedster with deep ball ability he should be a main target for Western Kentucky commit [player_tooltip player_id='1668630' first='Dallas' last='Covington'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Centennial/Father Ryan</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Irish have several new additions on both sides of the ball and the most explosive could be ATH [player_tooltip player_id='2201749' first='Makii' last='Howard'], he showed a ton straight line speed and decisiveness with the ball in his hands. Howard currently has an offer from Jacksonville St and there could on more on the way. Centennial's senior WR [player_tooltip player_id='2114143' first='Brody' last='Haddox'] showed a smooth release off the line of scrimmage and can get downfield in a hurry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->