Published: August 22, 2008 11:33 pm      

After further review

New Waverly coach likes what he saw on tape of Bulldogs’ scrimmage with Caldwell

After getting a chance to look at game tape from Thursday’s scrimmage against the Caldwell Hornets, New Waverly head coach Ken Craig liked what he saw from his team, but admitted there are a few areas that need to be addressed.

“Caldwell was a really aggressive, hard-hitting team and that’s what we expected to see out of them,” Craig said Friday afternoon. “Caldwell was a physical team, but I did see things that I liked out of our guys.

“Tyren (Watts) did a good job for us yesterday and Kyren (Watts) also made a nice play when we ran that game-like situation when he caught the ball and made a nice move on the cornerback and took it for a touchdown.”

There were also a number of chances New Waverly had, but couldn’t convert.

“We had a few drops out there and we almost had a big play out of Sir. Horace (Saulsberry) when he caught that long pass and he tried to make a move and the defender knocked the ball out at the 1-yard line,” Craig said.

Defensively, the Bulldogs performed well against the Hornets’ wing-T offense, but the Caldwell running backs found holes and broke away on a few plays.

“We just have to work with our defensive line a little bit,” Craig said. “Our defensive line was running to the gaps instead of running at the linemen. I want our guys to be physical.”

The scrimmage was beneficial to New Waverly’s defense because in the first few games, the Bulldogs will face the same offensive system with several running backs carrying the ball.

“Facing this offense can only help us,” Craig said. “Aside from a few big runs, our defense did well. Caldwell didn’t sustain many long drives and that was good to see.”

In the game-like situation, the Hornets outscored New Waverly 3-1.

“I think maybe the scrimmage went a little longer than it should’ve,” Craig said. “I think the kids were a little tired. But this is the type of thing that can only help you to prepare for Friday nights.”

Several of the New Waverly coaches traveled to Fairfield on Friday to scout the Teague Lions — the Bulldogs’ first opponent — in their three-way scrimmage with Fairfield and Kerens.

The Bulldogs will return to the practice field on Monday and resume their preparations for their season opener in Teague on Friday.