Hornets and Eagles each net 5 scores in scrimmage

Central Catholic and Franklin each scored five touchdowns in their spring scrimmage Thursday night.
The Eagles scored three first-team touchdowns and one second-team score. Meanwhile, Franklin had two first-team touchdowns and three second-team scores, two of those near the end of the scrimmage.
“I thought the effort was really good,” Central Catholic second-year coach Tommy Minton said. “I thought we played hard. We did a lot of good things, and we made some mistakes. But we didn’t have a whole lot of practices, so we kind of concentrated on fundamentals.”
Of the few plays they utilized, Minton thought his team executed them and looked “decent.”
The Eagles’ scored two touchdowns on their first series with the first-team as Stefano Guarisco broke off a long run early, while Jalen Johnson caught a pass from quarterback Blake Byrne.
The Eagles added one more score with its first-string on a catch and run by Samarick Paul via a pass from Byrne.
Greg Leger also had some nice catches in the scrimmage.
In the Eagles’ second-team action, the Eagles’ Chris Singleton scored a touchdown set up by a long run by quarterback Demarcus Mitchell.
Franklin, for whom names were not readily available, scored a touchdown on an 8-yard run, while the Hornets scored another touchdown via its ground game with the second group on its first drive.
Using a second quarterback, Franklin connected on a touchdown pass that the receiver hauled in in the middle of the field and fought off a Central Catholic defender to take in for the touchdown.
Franklin had two 60-yard runs in second-team action in the waning plays of the scrimmage for the final scores of the night.
Minton said his team is further along than last year in his first spring with the group. However, the team needs to continue to grow, unite and improve, he said.
“You can’t ever be satisfied,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of progress but we still have a lot of work to do.”
While the team spent a lot of time on offense and defense during spring practice, Minton said they need to zero in on special teams a good bit this summer.
“We lost a very good kicker in Matthew Barbier and we got to find a replacement,” Minton said.
He said he wants to see his team continue to get stronger in the weight room.
“In the single A level, I feel like we got where we can start about 11 on each side of the ball, and if we’re in great shape, that’s going to be a big advantage for us,” Minton said.