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August 28, 2009

Saints hang with Heritage Hall

OCS holds its own in final scrimmage of the preseason

Jeff Harrison

By the time the regular season rolls around the Oklahoma Christian School football team will be ready. The Saints wrapped up their preseason schedule Thursday night as they hosted a scrimmage with defending Class 2A state champion Heritage Hall.

�We�ve made sure we really went after some good schools,� OCS coach Derek Turner said. �We scrimmaged Casady and Cushing last week and those are some pretty good programs. Cushing is a 3A school and Heritage Hall is a 2A school, so we wanted to get up against some big kids and go.�

While the Saints still have a few things to polish before they host Sulpher next Friday, OCS head coach Derek Turner was pleased with the way his team held up.

�I think our kids did OK, they were a bit star struck, but it�s kind of hard not too when you have Barry Sanders Jr. over there,� Turner said. �They�re the defending 2A champions and I thought we did well against them.�

The Saints� defense looked strong and came out with plenty of emotion. Cornerback Rustin Purcer set the tone with a number of big hits early in the night.

�That Rustin Purcer will come hit you, that kid will flat hit you,� Turner said.

Heritage Hall got a couple of good looks at the Saints� end zone, but only broke the plane once. A big run play gave the Chargers a first down at the OCS five-yard line in their first series of the game. But the Saints� defense came through with a big goal-line stand, as they forced an incompletion and three unsuccessful run plays.

Later in the night, Heritage Hall used another big run to again set up deep inside the Saints� territory. This time the Chargers would not be denied as they scored on the very next play with a five-yard quarterback draw.

�I think our defense did well, we had a couple of breakdowns, we�re still struggling to get a couple signals in,� Turner said.

Things were not as bright for the Saints� offense, which never seemed to find their rhythm on the soggy turf. Jack Warren made a few nice passes including a 20-yard screen pass to Jeff Smith, but had a tough time getting consistent snaps.

�We had too many snaps over the quarterback�s head,� Turner said. �We had some issues there and I don�t know if it was as much about new people as it was because it was wet and really humid. You can�t make that excuse but at least when we get to a game situation then they�re going to be prepared for it.�

�We�d like to have been a little more crisp, but it�s one of the first scrimmages and we still have time to tune up and get cleaned up before the season starts,� Smith said. �These are the 2A state champion and to hold with them says a lot, because they are pristine and they�re proven.�

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