Morgan County faced off against Cherokee Bluff in a scrimmage on Aug. 7.
The Dogs secured a 29-21 victory over the Bears in their home game at Bill Corry Stadium.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins was happy with the Dogs’ performance in the team’s preseason contest. He believes they improved efforts as the game progressed, and have a better idea of what to work on going forward.
“I thought we started a little sloppy in places, and struggled a little bit on defense, but in the second quarter, we got some stops,” Jenkins said. “At one point, we were down 21-6, and we were able to come back and score twice.”
Morgan County was competitive throughout the scrimmage and trailed Cherokee Bluff 21-19 at the half.
The Dogs remained scoreless in the first quarter until running back Christian Monfort scored a 1-yard touchdown early in the second. The senior later crossed the goal line again with an 11-yard rushing score.
Several players on the Dogs’ offense contributed to the team’s first-half performance, including senior wideout Ty Tillery and senior quarterback Davis Strickland. Tillery caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Strickland in the back of the end zone.
“We kind of just got ourselves back up again with those two touchdowns, and those were back-to-back possessions,” Jenkins said. “I was really proud of them for fighting back and kind of getting us back in the ball game against a good football team.”
According to Jenkins, most of the starters were taken out of the game at halftime. The Dogs outscored the Bears 10-0 in the second half, with a field goal and a 40-yard rushing touchdown.
Jenkins believes there is “always room for improvement,” and hopes to see changes in multiple areas for both offense and defense.
“It’s a scrimmage, so it’s supposed to be sloppy, but we’ve got to block better. We’ve got to tackle better, and we dropped a ball or two, and that could have been big for us,” Jenkins said. “But overall, I was pleased with how [the players] responded and how we managed.”
Jenkins believes the matchup against the Class 3A Bears was a measuring stick for his team and is confident his players will learn from their mistakes as the season progresses. He thinks the first game will be more challenging for the Dogs since it is on the road.
“I think they’re gonna get better and better, and a lot of first scrimmages don’t look that way,” Jenkins said. “It’s always tough to play on the road, so [Warren County] is gonna be athletic. They’re big in spots, and they’ll be a good challenge for us.”
Morgan County opens up the 2025 season on the road against Warren County on Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.