Salem coach liked what he saw at Madison in scrimmage

By: 
George Browning

Salem quarterback Kaleb Tucker will make his varsity debut Friday night when the Lions travel to North Harrison to battle the Cougars in the season-opening game for both teams. 

Like West Washington, Salem Head Coach Blair Thompson gave the Lions a “B” for their performance in Friday night’s scrimmage at Madison.

“We kept things pretty basic,” he said. “We didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I thought it was the best we looked in a scrimmage at Madison since I’ve been on staff at Salem. I know it doesn’t mean much because it’s just a scrimmage, but we played really well.”

Thompson said the scrimmage is the end of the long grind and the first taste the kids get to be under the Friday night lights.

“This summer was even more unique than most,” he said. “Last summer we didn’t do anything at all, so this year felt even longer than most. The kids were really ready to go against another opponent. It was the same for coaches. We’ve been looking at things on paper and you think you know what you have and how you are going to be, but you don’t really know until you start seeing some live action.

“We have some young players and some players that haven’t played on Friday nights and you don’t know how they are going to react to that atmosphere until you get out there,” Thompson said. “I thought the kids were prepared and really stepped up and rose to the moment and as a coach, that’s really all you can ask for.”

Thompson liked what he saw, especially in two areas where there were big question marks.

One question, how would first-year starting quarterback Kaleb Tucker do, especially behind an inexperienced offensive line.

“Kaleb played phenomenal,” Thompson said. “We knew Tucker was a gamer and he proved it to be true against Madison. He was on. His first varsity pass went for a 50-yard touchdown. He stood in the pocket and got hit by one of their linebackers.”

Thompson said that was an area of concern with Tucker, would he have the patience to stand in as things were collapsing around him and deliver the throw.

Doing that comes down to trusting the offensive line.

“He only had one incomplete pass in the entire scrimmage,” Thompson said. “He ran the offense and when he had opportunities to run, he did that well and took control of the huddle, which is what we expect our quarterback to do.”

The offensive line also earned Thompson’s praise. Much of the talk around town is that the Lions will be as good this year as the blocking unit will be.

Thompson said if the scrimmage is any indication the line will surprise some people.

“Obviously the line is the question mark going into the season,” Thompson said. “We didn’t have any sacks on the night, we didn’t have any plays that led to negative yards. The fact that they played so well didn’t surprise me, but we were wondering how we would look on Friday nights against a much bigger school like Madison.”

Salem enters the season knowing Porter Howey and Danny Bowling will be the primary ball carriers, but Thompson said he was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Mason Gilstrap.

“He doesn’t get a lot of touches in practice because of Porter and Danny, but he averaged 10 to 15 yards a carry against Madison,” Thompson said. “He is a kid who gives you 100 percent no matter what you ask him to do. We gave him the ball and he did well. He gives our offense an extra dimension.”

With the scrimmage in the books, Salem now turns its attention to Mid Southern Conference action. The Lions will travel to Ramsey Friday night.

They spend much of last week practicing inside because of the heat and this week they will be battling the rain.

“We will probably be inside and out again this week,” Thompson said. “We have to prepare for the elements. It’s supposed to rain all week. We will prepare for both the extreme heat and the rain.

“As for North Harrison, we hear they want to throw the ball around more, but I think when push comes to shove they will drop back into what they do and will run the ball. I hope they come out in the spread, because their running offense is a nightmare to try to defend. We will try to prepare for both. I do have a hard time believing they are going to get away from what they have lived on the past seven years.”

Friday’s game in Ramsey will get started at 7 p.m.

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