One scrimmage, two reactions

Labor Day … and what better place to spend it than at a high school scrimmage?Monday, it was St. Mary?s going at it at Manning Field against English. And since the objective isn?t to win, per se, but to see how well you?ve progressed in two weeks of workouts, both coaches have different takes on what happened.For example, English coach Peter Holey was unhappy. St. Mary?s Matt Durgin was more matter-of-fact about what it all meant.?We take nothing good from this,” Holey said after the two teams matched wits for just over an hour on a sweltering, humid day. “About the only good thing that I can see is that it happened now … so we can see how much work we have to do.?We have 10 days to look at film, see what we did wrong, and correct it, before we open at Peabody a week from Friday (Sept. 12).”Holey wasn?t concerned so much about matching skill for skill Monday as much as he was testing the physical mettle of his Bulldogs. And, he said, they came up wanting.?We told them that we don?t see the type of offense Matt runs very much, and we don?t practice for it,” Holey said. “So all I wanted them to do was go out and be physical. And what?s disappointing is that they weren?t.”It wasn?t all bad. Quarterback Lucas Harris looked sharp during the time he was in there, connecting on several passes. But, as Holey said, too often he was left to scramble around behind the line of scrimmage before he could find an open receiver.?We?ll be fine,” said Holey. “But we have to be physical. It got better as the scrimmage went on, but it wasn?t good enough.”On the other side, Durgin got to unveil some serious speed in his lineup. Twice, senior returnee Connor Sakowich took handoffs and ran long distances to the end zone.?Connor?s come ready to play,” said Durgin. “He worked hard over the summer and he?s gotten stronger.”For Durgin, scrimmages against teams such as English — which plays at a level his team won?t see again this season — are a good chance to get everyone out there and playing.?We didn?t keep score or anything like that,” he said. “The most important thing is to just have them out there working hard.”With Sakowich, fullback John Gaeta, flanker Abraham Toe and quarterback Antonio Felix, the Spartans certainly have the speed and quickness. And while Durgin prefers to run the ball, he says he won?t be shy about having Felix put it up.?He?s a junior,” said Durgin, “but he has a lot of experience. He threw a lot of passes for us last year. And he has that extra varsity experience from having played baseball all spring (with defensive coordinator Derek Dana as the head coach) and it all counts. Every bit of it counts.”Perhaps the most spectacular play of the day came on a pass that wasn?t completed. Felix went long, down the middle, and Toe — a sophomore who went to a Pop Warner Super Bowl two years ago with West Lynn Pop Warner — almost caught up with it with a late burst of speed that allowed for some serious separation.?That could be a completion with a little more work and a little more timing,” Durgin said.Neither the Spartans nor the Bulldogs start this week. St. Mary?s travels to Swampscott next Saturday morning (noon) while English will be the first opponent to visit the newly-refurbished Coley Lee Field in Peabody.?Why,” Holey joked, “are we always opening other people?s fields? Last year it was Wakefield … this year it?s Peabody.”