Lake Oconee Academy got one final test before the regular season, and the Titans came away with plenty to work on.
LOA traveled to Social Circle on Aug. 14 for its annual preseason scrimmage, combining its varsity and JV results for a 38-7 loss.
With the season opener less than a week away, head coach Patrick Stewart said the Titans are using the experience as a learning opportunity.
The night did not get off to the start LOA wanted.
Lightning delays disrupted the Titans’ normal pregame routine, but Stewart said the team responded as the scrimmage went on. “We started kind of flat against Social Circle with the lightning delays, and it kind of hurt our pregame routine and put us in some adversity,” Stewart said. “The boys picked it up in the first half, and into that third quarter for our starters. And there were a lot of bright spots and a lot of stuff that we worked on this Monday morning to fix.”
The Titans leaned heavily on the running game, with junior Alden Barreras taking on a larger role heading into the season.
Stewart said Barreras has established himself as one of the team’s most important players on both sides of the ball.
“[Barreras] was all over the place offensively and defensively. I always say about him, he’s our core guy. From toughness and physicality to coachability, he’s everything you want in a player,” Stewart said.
LOA will also need several players to take on bigger responsibilities this season.
Stewart pointed to senior Braxton Bragg as one who has stepped into a more prominent role after not seeing much playing time previously.
“He hadn’t played much, but now is needed and has done a really good job trying to learn the defense from a linebacker perspective,” Stewart said.
The scrimmage also gave junior quarterback Jake McDonald another opportunity to work through some of the challenges that come with leading the offense.
McDonald is entering his second season as the Titans’ starter, and Stewart said the experience against Social Circle should benefit him moving forward.
“The main thing is we had a lot of opportunities in the air, and Jake capitalized on those opportunities, but also missed some,” Stewart said. “It was a great learning lesson for him to go into week one.”
LOA also used the preseason to challenge itself against strong competition, facing Bethlehem Christian before traveling to Social Circle.
“That was our plan to go into week one with some great opponents and know what it’s like,” Stewart said.
Now, the Titans have one week to clean up the mistakes before the games begin to count.
Stewart said the scrimmage served as an early reminder of the physicality his team will face once region play arrives. The Titans are also expecting junior running back CJ Stembridge to return this week after missing much of summer practice because of a non-football injury.
“The scrimmage was a good early wake-up call to physicality and how physical a game can get, and a really good mirror of our region play,” Stewart said. “I think we are in a good spot, and we get CJ Stembridge back this week, so that helps as a team and so we’ll be ready to go.”
With early-morning practices scheduled throughout the week, Stewart said the Titans will spend their remaining time addressing the issues exposed by the scrimmage while building toward their opener.
LOA will open the regular season at home Friday night against Mount Pisgah.