A good crowd was on hand for Perham’s first look at the 2018 football squad with the annual Black and Gold Scrimmage at Ted Meinhover Field in Perham on Aug. 22.
The annual event gives parents and fans an opportunity to get an early glimpse at the Yellowjackets before they compete in their first scrimmages in Barnesville on Aug. 25 and their first game competition when they host the Frazee Hornets on Aug. 31.
“It’s only been a week and a half in and it showed,” Perham head coach Kyle Knutson said. “We did some things well, but there are a lot of things we have to fix and pick up. It’s easy stuff to fix and we will tweak that the rest of the week and get another shot on Saturday.”
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For the annual event, the coaching staff splits the squads into a pair of equal teams. Quarterback Jenson Beachy connected for a pair of touchdowns to Josh Jeziorski. He also hit Noah Rooney over the middle for a touchdown. Colton Hackel hit Finn Diggins with a nice pass down the sideline for a score as well. Knutson said afterwards he was happy with the play of the quarterbacks. Diggins saw time at quarterback as well during the scrimmage.
“We saw some guys playing hard and it’s a reflection of how they have been practicing. They have been practicing very hard and we are proud of that,” Knutson said. “Offensively, every quarterback made great reads and that’s important in the offense that we run. Defensively, we need some work on strength calls, but everyone was going with their motor high. We will watch some film, break positions down closer and reevaluate them on Saturday in Barnesville.”
Knutson said they love being on the Meinhover Field and it’s a special place for the players and the coaching staff.
“Anytime you actually can step on it and play football, it’s a special thing for us,” Knutson said. “We love it.”
Knutson said he was proud of how the kids worked at all levels during the scrimmage.
“The kids, when they subbed in, saw it as a chance to make a mark. That’s the competitive attitude and culture we are trying to instil in these kids,” Knutson said. “It’s to strive to be better and beat the guy in front of you, but to do it in a good teammate type of way. It’s not a selfish thing, it’s I’m going to make myself better to make you better. It’s a healthy competitiveness and that’s the culture we are trying instill.”
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The Yellowjackets open the new season on Aug. 31 when they host the Frazee Hornets at the Ted Meinhover Field in Perham.
