Waco — It was a good test for 1A Italy during their scrimmage on Saturday. The 3A Waco Reicher Cougars are balanced on offense and boast an aggressive defense that gave Italy fits during its first set of offensive plays on Friday.

Eric Carson begins at quarterback for Italy and hands off to Ryheem Walker for a yard gain. Carson keeps on the next play and gains two more yards setting up 3rd & 7. Carson tries a pass to Cole Hopkins but the timing is off and Italy starts again from their own 30-yard line.

Carson looks to pass but tucks the ball instead to gain 3-yards. The Cougar defense continues to bring pressure and sacks Carson on the next play. Things fail to improve much for the Gladiators the remainder of their first offensive set. However, a 25-yard pass completion from Carson to Trevon Robertson did help in boosting Italy’s confidence before taking their turn on defense.

Waco’s first play is a run that gashes Italy all the way to the Gladiator 32-yard line where the runner is shoved out by Carson who plays cornerback for Italy’s defense. A short pass gains three before Walker make the tackle from his inside linebacker position. Waco runs for another first down to Italy’s nine. The Cougars throw a corner fade for the scrimmage’s first touchdown.

Waco returns to their 30-yard line to begin again. A run is halted after a 4-yard gain when Walker makes the stop. Kelvin Joffre makes the tackle to end a reverse play but not before the Cougars get a first down at their 41-yard line. A short dump pass results in a big gain with Italy’s Robertson making the tackle at the Gladiator 25-yard line. Desperately needing something positive to happen, Chase Hamilton comes away with an interception to halt Waco’s advance and force them to start again from their thirty.

The following play, right defensive tackle Paul Harris sacks the Cougar quarterback for an 8-yard loss. The next play is short gaining run but an offside penalty by Italy leaves Waco with a 2nd and 13 at the Cougar 27-yard line. Zain Byers beats his blocker and has a near sack but the Cougar QB temporarily escapes before Carson makes the tackle after a gain of five to bring up 3rd & 8. The Cougar QB rolls left but is tackled by Walker to stall the drive.

Walker starts off with another tackle to force a 2nd and 8 for the Cougar offense. Waco throws deep but solid coverage by Lewis and Joffre forces an incomplete pass. On their final offensive, Waco completes a pass for a first down but the ball is returned to Italy who begins their second offensive series from their own thirty.

Marvin Cox steps in at quarterback for Italy and wastes no time by sprinting 27-yards to the Waco 43-yard line. A run by Lewis advances Italy to the 36-yard line. Cox keeps again and runs down to the 18-yard line. A pass from Cox is off the mark to Cole Hopkins followed by another incomplete pass intended for Reid Jacinto that threatens to stall drive. Caden Jacinto runs around a seal block by Byers for a gain of 5-yards but Italy is unable to get the first down and has to start again from their own 30-yard line.

A after a run by Shad Newman gains little, Cox launches a deep ball to Hamilton who makes the catch at Waco’s 17-yard line for his second big play of the scrimmage, a 53-yard completion! Cox then passes to an open Caden Jacinto in the end zone but the effort is negated by an illegal chop block call charged to the Gladiators. On 1st and 20, Cox keeps for a 7-yard gain to the Waco twenty. A pass to Robertson is enough for the first down at the Cougar fifteen. A nifty shovel pass from Cox to Newman gives the junior room to operate and he runs thru a Cougar defender to reach the end zone standing up. Newman’s touchdown ties the contest 1-1 and Waco returns to offense for the second round of offensive plays.

On the first play, defensive tackle Zackery Boykin sacks the Cougar QB and causes a fumble. Several Gladiators go after the loose ball with Hamilton having the best chance to scoop it and score. Unfortunately, the referees blew their whistles to stop the play for safety reasons with coaches and managers on the field but it would have been an obvious touchdown for the Gladiators and would have given them a 2-1 advantage.

Waco resets at their 30-yard line and turns a short pass into a big gainer down to Italy’s 25-yard line with Carson making the tackle. Defensive tackle Paul Harris sacks the Cougar quarterback again back to the the Italy 32-yard line. Harris and Cody Medrano combine for a tackle to bring up 3rd and 17 for the Cougars. Waco lobs an incomplete pass with Caden Jacinto defending and the Cougar drive stalls returning them all the way back to their thirty.

Medrano and Cox hold Waco to a short gain. A pass brings up 3rd and short with Carson making the stop. Medrano and Carson team up for a tackle but Waco gets a first down at their 45-yard line. Robertson and Cox make the tackle to bring up 2nd and 7 for Waco. A short run is ended by a multitude of Gladiator tackles. On the next play, Cox intercepts a Cougar pass and races for the end zone. The senior safety is so fast that he almost covers the 46-yards between him and the goal line before the referees can blow the play dead, again for safety issues. However, the interception return by Cox would have given the Gladiators a 3-1 advantage to conclude the scrimmage.

Both sides enter the game simulation phase of the contest playing a 12-minute quarter. Waco has the ball to start and but throws incomplete on their first play with Carson having good coverage. A long run by Waco advance them into Gladiator territory. The Cougar QB keeps down to the 20-yard line. Hamilton disrupts a screen pass and nearly has his second pick on the night. Waco keeps at it and connects on a pass down to Italy’s 4-yard line with Carson keeping the Cougars out of the end zone. Lewis makes a tackle for a loss in the Cougar backfield but Waco responds with a touchdown pass on the next play to go up 7-0 after a successful point-after attempt.

Italy gets their chance from their own thirty but Waco intercepts Italy on their second down and quickly retakes control of the ball at the Gladiator 49-yard line. A tackle by Walker would bring up 3rd and 7 for Waco. Walker then flushes the Cougar QB out of the pocket and makes the tackle to leave Waco with a 4th and 11 situation. The Cougars go for it and strike with a big running play to the Italy ten. A sack by Lewis backs up Waco for a 10-yard loss. On 3rd and 11 from the eleven, Waco connects on a pass into the end zone and goes up 14-0 in the game simulation after the point-after kick is good.

From their 30-yard line, Italy tries to respond and Carson connects on a sideline pass to Hamilton for a 20-yard completion to midfield. Walker gains inches on a run but an offsides call charged to Waco pushes the ball to Waco’s 45-yard line. Carson is pressured in the backfield and throws incomplete. Carson keeps for three to Waco’s forty-two. A pass intended for Hamilton is knocked down by the Cougar defender and Waco regains possession.

Caden Jacinto batts down a Cougar pass. Waco tries to run left but, just as the plays appears to be over, Lewis strips the ball and dashes all the way to the end zone for a 45-yard defensive touchdown. The senior Gladiator makes the score 14-6. Italy sets up for the field goal kick and Byers snaps to Hopkins who holds for Kevin Roldan who boots the pigskin thru the uprights to make the score 14-7.

Waco starts from their 30-yard line with 3:49 remaining in the game simulation. Walker leads off with a hard hit on a Cougar receiver on a 1-yard gain. Junior nose guard, Hank Seabolt pressures the Cougar QB to force an incomplete pass Waco is forced to punt but it fils to travel far and Italy starts at their own 35-yard line.

Walker breaks tackles for a nice gain to Waco’s 35-yard line, a 30-yard effort. Waco’s defense responds and refuse to let Italy finish the drive. Waco takes over with less than a minute remaining and the game simulation ends with Waco ahead 14-7.

Overall, the 3A Cougars began the scrimmage with a tremendous defensive effort and then scored on their first offensive series. Credit the Gladiators, however, who were able to raise level of play by two classifications in order to compete with Waco. If you only count the offensive scoring, Waco gets the edge 3-2. If you allow Italy’s obvious defensive scores, then the Gladiators get the nod 4-3. I think Italy fans, myself included, prefer the latter.

Tonight, the Italy Gladiators will kickoff their 2012 season under first year head coach Hank Hollywood in Maypearl at 7:30 p.m. Long time rivals, this matchup should be fun to watch! Italy has the momentum after last night’s 38-0 trouncing by the JV Gladiators over the Maypearl JV. See you all at the game!!

Go Italy!