Football players head back to the field for scrimmages

By RICHIE HALL
After a strange and uncertain five months for Indiana high school athletics, there was finally a bit of normalcy on Friday night.
Several football teams competed in scrimmages, a welcome preview to what will hopefully be an exciting season on the fields in Indiana. Guerin Catholic was among those hosting a scrimmage, as the Golden Eagles welcomed Zionsville to the Eagles Nest.
This was a “pickup” scrimmage for both teams. Guerin Catholic was originally to host Danville, while Zionsville was supposed to play at Kokomo. But the original scrimmages got canceled; however, the Golden Eagles and the Zionsville Eagles were able to work this one out.
“We’re thrilled to let these guys actually put some uniforms on, turn the lights on, play tackle football against somebody else,” said GC coach Tom Dilley during a break in the action. He is beginning his seventh season with the Golden Eagles.
“Regardless of whether there’s a scoreboard or not, we’re thrilled that after we and Zionsville both lost scrimmage opponents, it was great that we could find each other, and really appreciate Coach (Scott) Turnquist being really cooperative in working out the format,” said Dilley.
In the scrimmage, both teams took to the field to run a set number of plays in a series, allowing them to get reps in offensive and defensively. The teams also got to run a few field goal and punt plays, again allowing them to play on both sides of the ball.
“There were some exciting and encouraging things and there were some really ugly things,” said Dilley. “For the most part, across the board I thought effort was good.”
The Golden Eagles will begin their regular-season at the Eagles Nest, hosting McCutcheon next Friday in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
There is a schedule update: Guerin Catholic’s Week 8 game with Brother Rice (Mich.) has been canceled, as the Michigan High School Athletic Association announced on Friday that footballin that state will be played in the spring season.
In other county scrimmages, Hamilton Southeastern participated in one at Bishop Chatard on Friday night. Guerin Catholic and the Royals were the only two local schools in action on Friday; everyone else will participate in scrimmages today.
Two teams are at home: Noblesville hosts North Central at 10 a.m., while Hamilton Heights welcomes Eastbrook at 11 a.m. Westfield will travel to Ben Davis for 10 a.m. scrimmage, while Fishers heads to Lawrence North and Sheridan plays at Crawfordsville; both start at 11 a.m.