'Jacks defense shines against Cecilia in spring scrimmage

The Patterson offensive produced in the spring game, while its defense proved tough to break as the Lumberjacks outscored Cecilia five touchdowns to one in the teams’ spring scrimmage at Cecilia Tuesday.
Patterson High School football coach Chad Blanchard said the first team offensive scored three times, while its defense didn’t give up any in their time on the field in the scripted portion of the scrimmage, which consisted of two 15-play sets for each team.
The Lumberjacks second team also scored a touchdown in one of its two 10-play sets, while its defense didn’t give up any touchdowns to Cecilia.
In the “live” 12-minute quarter between the two schools, each team scored a touchdown.
“I thought it went well,” Blanchard said of the scrimmage. “One of the biggest purposes you play a spring game and you go through spring training is you try to develop some depth, try to see where you’re guys have made improvements throughout the offseason, and you try to fill in some spots from some seniors that you lost from (the) previous year.”
Blanchard said he thought his squad accomplished all of those things in the spring game and in their 10 days of practice.
During this spring, Blanchard said areas they tried to fill from experience lost from last year’s Class 3A quarterfinal squad were holes on the offensive line and in the secondary at the linebacker positions. From last year’s team, the Lumberjacks lost three players who were at least two-year starters.
“We got a group of young kids that worked hard in the offseason, January through April, and I thought they did a good job of working (to a) point of where they can be productive for us,” he said. “They’re ready to get on the field.”
Blanchard said a positive to get out of spring practice was the leadership shown by his seniors, pointing specifically to Sirbatian Charles, Tristen Ausama, Nehemiah Augustus, Charlie Kelly and Sean Stewart.
“We have a group of seniors that they have a lot of experience,” Blanchard said. “We’ve got some guys that have played a lot since they’ve been freshmen and sophomores.”
As for areas the Lumberjacks still need work, Blanchard noted in the secondary and at wide receiver, spots where the team will be young this year.