Drew Harding pitches the ball right before freshman Garrett Griffin brings him down during Friday’s scrimmage. Harding broke his collarbone early in the game. (Photo by Andy Brown)
Join our Mailing List!
Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news.Sign Up Today!
Injury dampens scrimmage
Harding breaks collarbone on second play of exhibition
By Andy Brown, andybrown@miconews.com
All Louisburg football coach Gary Griffin wanted to do was get his players some time on the field and hoped no one got hurt.
One of the two was accomplished, anyway.
The Wildcats suffered a big blow Friday night, and their season hasn’t even officially started. During the team’s soap/towel scrimmage at Wildcat Stadium, Louisburg saw two of its players suffer injuries that could leave them out of action for a significant amount of time.
On just the second play of the scrimmage, junior Drew Harding, who was either going to be the team’s starting quarterback or tailback in the team’s opener in Ottawa, suffered a broken collarbone. Harding played three more plays before he was eventually taken out.
According to the doctor, Harding probably won’t be back until district play begins in about six weeks. Senior wide receiver and defensive back, Chad Renner, also sustained a wrist contusion but he practice on Monday and should be ready this week..
But Harding’s loss put a damper on what was supposed to be an exciting evening.
“That is football,” Griffin said. “You hate to lose any kid, but when you are carrying the ball and you have a target on you, any play you can get hurt. I feel bad for the kid because he has perfect attendance in the weight room, he is the hardest worker we got, and he is a kid that will play any position you ask and will do the best he can. But it is his junior year, and we hope to get him back in five or six weeks and go from there.”
With Harding out, that means sophomore Kody Cook will be the team’s starting quarterback in the season opener and a whole host of tailbacks will also try to make up for Harding’s loss as well. He was also supposed to be one of the team’s starting linebackers.
When Cook entered Friday’s scrimmage, however, he picked up right where Harding left off and eventually found Clayton Houchen for a 15-yard touchdown pass for the purple squad. Chris Cook also saw a lot of snaps due to Harding’s absence.
“Kody played well and Chris came in and played well too,” Griffin said. “Chris just took reps (Thursday) for the first time since last year and did a great job considering that. Garrett (Griffin) is getting some reps at quarterback, and we are just trying to make sure that kids can play in case injuries happen.
“That is something that a lot of people underestimate, and you have to make sure you have backups ready. There are some places where we are thin, but after two weeks I feel that we are coming along.”
Houchen, a junior wide receiver and defensive back, also had a good night for the Wildcats. Along with his touchdown, he also caught two other passes along with a fumble recovery and an interception on defense.
“Clayton is a very fundamentally sound kid,” Griffin said. “We expect him to be a solid cover corner for us, and very seldom do you see him out of position and he has a knack that you can’t teach.”
Freshman Garrett Griffin will be a fixture on the varsity this season and saw several snaps at quarterback, tailback and linebacker. Griffin scored the white’s only touchdown of the night on a 9-yard touchdown run in the second half.
The junior varsity faced off with the freshman squad numerous times, and quarterback Jacob Powell ended the night with a 40-yard touchdown run to complete the night’s scoring.
Despite the injuries, coach Griffin was pleased with the way the night went.
“It is hard to tell until you watch film, but I thought our defensive fronts played well,” he said. “We are young and inexperienced in the backfield, d-backs and linebackers, but I thought we got after it pretty good. I think we have the makings of a team where we will have to keep improving and come together. The last two weeks have improved a lot.”
The Wildcats open their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Ottawa.
printable version
e-mail this story
One of the two was accomplished, anyway.
The Wildcats suffered a big blow Friday night, and their season hasn’t even officially started. During the team’s soap/towel scrimmage at Wildcat Stadium, Louisburg saw two of its players suffer injuries that could leave them out of action for a significant amount of time.
On just the second play of the scrimmage, junior Drew Harding, who was either going to be the team’s starting quarterback or tailback in the team’s opener in Ottawa, suffered a broken collarbone. Harding played three more plays before he was eventually taken out.
According to the doctor, Harding probably won’t be back until district play begins in about six weeks. Senior wide receiver and defensive back, Chad Renner, also sustained a wrist contusion but he practice on Monday and should be ready this week..
But Harding’s loss put a damper on what was supposed to be an exciting evening.
“That is football,” Griffin said. “You hate to lose any kid, but when you are carrying the ball and you have a target on you, any play you can get hurt. I feel bad for the kid because he has perfect attendance in the weight room, he is the hardest worker we got, and he is a kid that will play any position you ask and will do the best he can. But it is his junior year, and we hope to get him back in five or six weeks and go from there.”
With Harding out, that means sophomore Kody Cook will be the team’s starting quarterback in the season opener and a whole host of tailbacks will also try to make up for Harding’s loss as well. He was also supposed to be one of the team’s starting linebackers.
When Cook entered Friday’s scrimmage, however, he picked up right where Harding left off and eventually found Clayton Houchen for a 15-yard touchdown pass for the purple squad. Chris Cook also saw a lot of snaps due to Harding’s absence.
“Kody played well and Chris came in and played well too,” Griffin said. “Chris just took reps (Thursday) for the first time since last year and did a great job considering that. Garrett (Griffin) is getting some reps at quarterback, and we are just trying to make sure that kids can play in case injuries happen.
“That is something that a lot of people underestimate, and you have to make sure you have backups ready. There are some places where we are thin, but after two weeks I feel that we are coming along.”
Houchen, a junior wide receiver and defensive back, also had a good night for the Wildcats. Along with his touchdown, he also caught two other passes along with a fumble recovery and an interception on defense.
“Clayton is a very fundamentally sound kid,” Griffin said. “We expect him to be a solid cover corner for us, and very seldom do you see him out of position and he has a knack that you can’t teach.”
Freshman Garrett Griffin will be a fixture on the varsity this season and saw several snaps at quarterback, tailback and linebacker. Griffin scored the white’s only touchdown of the night on a 9-yard touchdown run in the second half.
The junior varsity faced off with the freshman squad numerous times, and quarterback Jacob Powell ended the night with a 40-yard touchdown run to complete the night’s scoring.
Despite the injuries, coach Griffin was pleased with the way the night went.
“It is hard to tell until you watch film, but I thought our defensive fronts played well,” he said. “We are young and inexperienced in the backfield, d-backs and linebackers, but I thought we got after it pretty good. I think we have the makings of a team where we will have to keep improving and come together. The last two weeks have improved a lot.”
The Wildcats open their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Ottawa.