Scrimmage wrap: Midseason form for Buford, North Hall in scrimmages

Area high school football fans got their first glimpse, but certainly not finished products, of their favorite teams Friday night as the 2021 campaign got under way with the first round of scrimmages.

The Georgia High School Association allows high school teams to hold either one spring scrimmage or two preseason scrimmages. If teams decided to play a spring scrimmage, they are only allowed to play one preseason scrimmage.

Buford, Commerce, Dawson County, Habersham Central, and North Hall all held scrimmages on Friday. The Wolves beat Cedar Grove 21-7 while North Hall beat Redan 35-12. Habersham Central fell to North Oconee and Dawson County struggled in a 46-10 loss to North Forsyth. Commerce finished in a 14-14 tie with Apalachee.

Buford nearly pulled the shutout of a solid Cedar Grove team and coach Bryant Appling was pleased even for a scrimmage game.

"We're young in a lot of spots right now but we played good," Appling said. "The kids played physical and fast. That was really good for a night like this. But we still have a long ways to go to get where we want to be."

Raiders' coach Benji Harrison saw a little bit of everything from his young squad overall. They got an interception from sophomore Carter Barrett and another sophomore, quarterback Carson Parker, scored on a run to cap the ensuing drive for a 6-0 lead over North Oconee.

But a pair of turnovers, including a pick-6, and a defensive breakdown that allowed a long Titans touchdown pass saw the Raiders fall behind 20-6 by halftime in Mt. Airy.

"Our kids were really excited to get out there and they started off real nice getting a turnover and we moved the ball very well early on. We did some really good things on offense," Harrison said. "But we also made some mistakes. We're a very young team and that's why we're out here holding a scrimmage two weeks before the season. We'll get all that worked out and get ready [for the opener against Madison County]."

In Coal Mountain, North Forsyth scored first when quarterback Drew Aucoin connected on a 67-yard TD pass to Logan Curry but Dawson County tied it up on a Matt Bennett 14-yard fumble return for a touchdown. The Raiders answered with two straight scoring drives in the first half to take the lead for good.

Dawson County is having to replace its entire secondary and receiving corp. Tigers' coach Sid Maxwell said tht's what the scrimmages are designed to work on.

“The boys were flying around having fun,” Maxwell said. “I’m proud of their effort. They made a few mistakes, but we’re trying to coach that up. You’ve got to play in an atmosphere like this to get better.”

“We’ve got a whole bunch of spots," Maxwell said about the new positions. "I think most of them are doing well…just a few breakdowns. Those breakdowns gave us a few issues.”