RED SPRINGS — West Bladen coach Russell Dove got exactly what he thought he would from this week’s scrimmages: plenty of game experience for his No. 1s and plenty of things to fix before Friday’s regular-season opener against South Robeson.

“We went up against some good competition,” Dove said. “Red Springs is pretty tough and will be a team to watch this season.”

The Knights traveled to Red Springs High on Thursday to participate in the Robeson County Football Jamboree, where they faced the host team in the opening scrimmage, then took on Word of God out of Raleigh in the later scrimmage. The Red Devils scored six touchdowns — four through the air — against West Bladen, which put up three scores; the Knights beat the Holy Rams by a 2-1 margin in touchdowns.

“It was an interesting two days of scrimmages because we saw the gamut of offenses — from the triple option to the spread zone read to the pistol power “I” and the two-back spread,” Dove said. “But it gave us a chance to see different formations and make adjustments on both sides of the ball.”

Dove said there are a lot of typical early things that need attention, like missed defensive assignments and blocking.

“We just need to get better at execution and become more physical,” Dove added. “But I’m happy with where we are, especially with how the offensive line did. We’re on the right track.”

The Knights will open the regular season on Friday with an endowment game at home against South Robeson High. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

Kenny Armstrong|Bladen Journal West Bladen quarterback Stefon McDonald hands off to running back James Moore during one of the scrimmage games.
http://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBfoot-Handoff.jpgKenny Armstrong|Bladen Journal West Bladen quarterback Stefon McDonald hands off to running back James Moore during one of the scrimmage games.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com