Published: August 17, 2008 01:48 am            

Taking charge

Most football coaches are quick to point out that the defense is usually ahead of the offense at this point in fall camp.

Last weekend, that wasn’t the case as the Bearkats moved the ball with ease during a situational scrimmage. But Saturday morning at Bowers Stadium, it was the defense’s time to shine.

Starting cornerback Wonseleh Brewer picked off a couple of Rhett Bomar passes in the end zone, and the Sam Houston State defense held the offense to only three touchdowns in the Kats’ first game-like intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.

“When we started two-a-days, we were going back and forth with the offense where they would have a good day then we would have a good day,” Brewer said. “But the last few days we have been steady and put together three good days in a row. Hopefully we can just build on it and carry it into the season.”

The scrimmage started with special teams and goal-line situations, and the defense did more than hold its own. Brewer came up with his interceptions and the offense failed to reach the end zone before the scrimmage shifted to a more traditional style with the Bearkats trying to drive the length of the field.

It looked like the offense was about to finally settle in after running back James Aston caught a pass from Bomar and raced 50 yards down the field before being tackled around the 16-yard line. But the defense dug in and forced the offense to turn the ball over on downs.

The Bearkats looked sluggish and out of rhythm on offense. There were bad and dropped passes, several penalties and a fumble by wideout Trey Payne following a 13-yard gain that would have moved the chains.

“It was just kind of a rough day for the offense,” said Aston, who has been getting most of the reps at running back with TyMagic Robinson sitting out with a leg injury. “But we have two offensive linemen out that are starters (John Dirk and Nick Grimes), and sometimes you just have a bad day.

“We just have to come out the next day and try to improve, and that is what we are going to do.”

After a few unsuccessful drives, the offense finally got on the board. Bomar hit Catron Houston for a couple of passes for 19 yards then found Aston for nine more to move into the defense’s territory.

On third and one from the 30, the defense was called for pass interference, which moved the ball to the 15. Bomar hit Aston for 11 yards before finding Jason Madkins for a 4-yard touchdown.

Bomar, who roughly completed 20-of-37 passes for 210 yards, later connected with senior Justin Wells on a 5-yard score on the first-team offense’s final drive.

The only other touchdown came on the last play of the scrimmage when sophomore Jordan Williams found freshman Freddie King from 20 yards out.

“The defense really played well and clean today,” Bearkat head coach Todd Whitten said. “We had some turnovers and Wonseleh had a couple of picks. Those are the things we have to get better at this year. We have to harass the quarterback and get some takeaways.

“Again, I thought it was a pretty clean scrimmage. The defense tackled better and played pretty well from start to finish.”

With the season opener now less than two weeks away, the Bearkats will begin to shift their focus to getting ready to play East Central Oklahoma on Aug. 28.

Saturday was the last time Sam Houston State will scrimmage with live officials and the important thing is that everyone walked safely off the field this time around.

“Usually the offense will have a good day and then the defense will. That’s what happens in fall camp,” Whitten added. “The main thing for us is staying healthy. We only have a few more days of camp, and if we can make it through without any more injuries that will be the key. We still have some things we need to work on, but I still believe we have the chance to be a really good football team.”

        

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