May 26—LAURINBURG — Spring practice wrapped up for the Scotland High School football team on Wednesday after six practice sessions were held that began on May 16.

Scotland head coach Richard Bailey felt his team improved as the practices progressed and "thought the energy was good."

"I thought we had a good six days," Bailey said. "I thought that the kids that were out there really worked hard and I think we got better each day."

One player who was missing from the practices though was quarterback Carter Revelle.

Revelle, who was Scotland's starter for the past two years, recently made the decision to transfer to Eastern Randolph High School in Ramseu.

Bailey explained why Revelle did so.

"Obviously, we're disappointed to see him leave," Bailey said. "He came and talked with me, him and his father, and there were a lot of things going on with, just the travel he was making everyday. People don't realize he was driving about an hour a day to come here. It was just hard on him."

With Revelle departing, it leaves the door open for Ji'San McPhatter, who will be a junior next season, to take over.

In six career games, McPhatter has thrown for 68 yards with one touchdown to two interceptions.

"He's kind of been waiting his turn," Bailey said on McPhatter. "I've been telling him forever that 'you're an ankle sprain away from being a (starting) quarterback.' We didn't skip a beat with him. He did a great job this spring and really took control. And he's been getting a lot of reps the past two years anyway so I think he's seized the moment."

Two guys McPhatter won't be able to throw the ball to next year are graduating receivers Cadyn Graves and Izeem Graham.

But two other receivers have stepped up in their place throughout spring practice: Quatavius Everette and Dajuan Gibson.

"I look for big things from those guys," Bailey said on Everette and Gibson. "We won't skip a beat at wideout at all. Both of those guys have been to multiple camps here in the spring and have really been impressive; both of them ran track and got faster. I think they'll have a great year for us."

Another player that stood out to Bailey on offense this spring was Shylan Harrell.

Harrell, a backup quarterback last season, was moved to receiver and looks to be a gadget guy for Bailey this upcoming year.

"He's looked really good this spring adjusting to that role," Bailey said. "He'll add a little dimension to that position I think. He'll be a really effective guy with the screens and some of that stuff, maybe even running jet sweeps. I would also look for him to be the quarterback in our little goal line package cause he'll be able to run but he'll also have the ability to throw, which is good."

Matrice McRae, a linebacker who suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter against Northern Durham in week one last year, was a participant in the spring practices after having knee surgery in January.

Bailey called him "the most dynamic player we had."

"He's not a hundred percent right now but he was able to practice this spring," Bailey said. "If we can get him back, that'll be huge."

Bailey kept a close eye on his defensive players during spring practice as he will be the new defensive coordinator for the team this fall. Two-way guys will be a key for a strong defense next season, with Bailey wanting to get his best players on the field.

Bailey will also work with the defense throughout the offseason to change the scheme from last year.

"We're gonna be a little bit more of a pressure oriented defense,"Bailey said. "I think we need to create negative plays. I don't think we did that enough; we did not have a lot of sacks last year. We've got to find ways to put people in long down and distances and then we've got to be able to pressure the quarterback."

Heading into the summer, the Scots will start summer workouts on June 12 before attending a camp at North Carolina State University on June 16. Bailey also has a 7-on-7 event scheduled for his team at St. Andrews University on June 22.