Pre-season Scrimmage

Ford’s Falcons edge out Chavez’s Redskins

By CHRIS COBB and MIKE GONZALEZ
The Brownsville Herald

August 14, 2005 — Los Fresnos narrowly defeated Donna in what was the first test of the season for both teams on Saturday at Leo Aguilar Stadium.

The scrimmage consisted of two phases, first a controlled session where each team had five possessions from a designated yard line, and then two quarters of regular play.

The Falcons won the controlled session 3-2 and edged out the Redskins 2-1 during the two quarters of standard play.

“I think overall we’re pleased,” Los Fresnos coach Scott Ford said. “We’re not running around and dancing in the streets, but it was a good day.

“I think we’re ahead of where we were last year,” Ford added. “We’re stronger; but there’s still a lot left to fix.”

Ford was especially impressed with the playmaking ability of middle linebacker Justin Springer.

“He’s fantastic,” Ford said. “He might be the best middle linebacker I’ve ever coached. He’s fun to watch.”

Former Rivera head coach Tom Chavez’s Redskins were still going through some of the growing pains of learning a new system.

For Chavez, this season is about building a program and trying to get an inexperienced team to learn how to play Tom Chavez football.

“I’m starting from the ground up here,” Chavez said. “There’s a lot of new kids. (The scrimmage) serves as a big barometer. We still have a long way to go, and it’s just going to take awhile. If we can play as hard as we can and get better every week, we should be competitive.”