Changes to lineup keep Lakewood, Watkins Memorial football players on toes
HEBRON — Being right in the heart of summer vacation, July is a cruel time for a pop quiz.
New Lakewood football coach John Poulnott, however, enjoyed seeing his young Lancers being forced to adjust on the fly. Short-handed for its passing scrimmages Tuesday against visiting Watkins Memorial and Franklin Heights, Lakewood had to make some adjustments.
"I want to see kids who get thrown into the fire at a position they normally don't play understand from our practice reps what the overall concepts of our plays are," said Poulnott, who previously has been an assistant for Jason Lee, who resigned after last season.
"We don't have the luxury of being three- or four-deep at Lakewood, so the next man up might be moving from the slot to the split,” Poulnott added.
Lakewood previously had passing scrimmages against Granville and Sheridan. Junior quarterback Adam Crawford put the ball in the hands in space of senior Josh Hicks and junior Isaiah Mitchell and let them work their magic, each breaking away for a score.
Watkins is just getting the engine going for its second season under coach Darren Waters. The Warriors have stuck primarily to the weight room during the first half of the summer, giving their players a chance to play summer baseball and basketball.
"We wanted to give the kids an opportunity to compete and have some fun," Waters said. "We wanted to have the opportunity to teach some of our base stuff and give them a chance to have some different looks."
Lakewood is eager to get to August when it can add its talented line led by seniors Stewart Poulnott and Jacob Ellinger and junior Keegan Jacks to the mix.
For now, the offense is limited to the passing game, and juniors Crawford and Tyler Christman were asked to put the ball in the correct spots. Senior tight end Kaleb Hunt and sophomore receiver Hunter Crawford also gained big yardage after the catch.
"The biggest thing I want to see is less mistakes, understanding what balls you can't throw," John Poulnott said. "You hear it every Saturday and Sunday. Late over the middle is a guaranteed pick."
Tuesday was Watkins’ first opportunity to work emerging skill players into expanded roles. Junior Patrick Carney is expected to take over at quarterback, and senior running back DaaVion Long showed an added ability to help the passing game.
Seniors Brody Lee and Tommy Ischy are leading the way at receiver, and classmate Jace Henry is back at cornerback and made multiple interceptions on Tuesday.
"The thing we felt good about is how we progressed with our understanding of things as we went through the day," Waters said.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Changes to lineup keep Lakewood, Watkins football players on toes
