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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mikey Soito breaks free down field for a receiving touchdown Friday, Aug. 22. Soito produced three touchdowns on the day. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Keyton Newland follows through on a passing play Friday, Aug. 22. Newland showed off his skills as both a passer and runner in this scrimmage. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) London Martinez throws off his back foot Friday, Aug. 22, against Baird. Martinez is entering his senior season for the Bobcats.
The Newcastle Bobcats varsity football team held their second and final scrimmage this past week and made a strong impression against the Baird Bears.
The team held this scrimmage at home Friday, Aug. 22. This comes just a little over a week after the teams scrimmage against Saint Jo and right before the team's first regular season match.
The Bobcats dominated both ends of the field on the night leaving head coach Isiah Archer impressed with the team's effort.
“I think we’ve grown pretty good,” Archer said. “We’re clicking on offense more than I thought we would be. Our defense looks pretty solid. We can see that the things we're putting in place are starting to take off and they’re actually starting to take control of their roles.”
Multiple players on the team rose to the occasion and left their impact on the contest. First there was the hybrid quarterback tandem of London Martinez and Keyton Newland.
In six man football, players need to be versatile and know how to adapt to many situations and that's what these two young men did. Both of them had big scramble plays in the backfield leading to touchdowns individually.
Martinez built a solid connection in his passing game as well with senior Jayden Hemby. Hemby made several contested catches while also getting physical with defensive backs in order to pick up yards after the catch.
However one of the true stars in the receiving game was receiver Mikey Soito. The senior scored multiple touchdowns throughout the game in a multitude of ways.
His first came on a rushing play where he slipped multiple defenders for a touchdown down the right side of the field.
His second came on a screen pass where he managed to get free for a score. His final touchdown of the evening came on a connection with Newland as Soito was able to shake defenders downfield.
Defensively, the team also played solid ball, however, they were starting to give up some bigger run plays down the stretch of the game so that will need to be addressed going forward.
The team will get their first chance at regular season action Friday, Aug. 29, against Iredell on the road at 7:30 p.m.
