What were the main takeaways from Inland Lakes football's Friday home scrimmage?

INDIAN RIVER – You know Week 1’s closing in when scrimmages are happening .

For the Inland Lakes Bulldogs , they were the most recent area team to host a scrimmage, taking on Engadine and Mio during a three-team event held at Shanley Field on Friday.

With under a week before their opening game, the Bulldogs got plenty of offensive and defensive work in against the Eagles and the Thunderbolts.

Here’s a few takeaways from Friday’s session against Engadine.

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Offense looks dangerous

From the opening possession until the final play, the Bulldogs displayed what kind offensive firepower they have, scoring several times against the Eagles and looking consistent with their running and passing.

Leading the Bulldogs was senior quarterback Aidan Fenstermaker, along with fellow seniors Andre Bradford and Mitch Crawford, who both ran the ball effectively.

Even though things looked crisp, Inland Lakes always knows there's room for improvement.

“I think we definitely saw mistakes, but even a lot of them just got corrected right there in the spot,” Inland Lakes coach Travis Meyer said. “They were really simple, really obvious things that were easy to catch and easy to fix, so that’s good."

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Potential stars?

The Bulldogs certainly have weapons in Fenstermaker, Crawford and Bradford, but one of the big questions heading into this season was whether other players could emerge and take the roles of the standouts who graduated.

If Friday was any indication, Inland Lakes might have at least a couple in juniors Wyatt Hanel and Ty Kolly, who shined against the Eagles. Whether it was Hanel breaking free for TD runs or Kolly catching passes and reaching the end zone, both gave Engadine problems.

“Ty and Wyatt are guys that played a bit last year and have to be able to step in and fill some big shoes,” Meyer said. “Ty made a great pass and was making some good blocks downfield. We moved his position just this week, he’s embraced it and has kind of been killing it. Wyatt isn’t in much of a different role but is obviously grown more mature and doing it better than he did a year ago, so that’s exciting.”

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Cardinals up next

Following the Engadine clash, the Bulldogs later wrapped up their scrimmage with action against Mio.

With gameday approaching, Inland Lakes knows who’s next. That would be the Onaway Cardinals, who managed to grind out a winning season last fall. The Bulldogs are relishing a chance to clash with their M-68 rivals after not being able to last year because of an Onaway forfeit.

“Last Friday was an exciting day, and you get to hit for the first time in a long time, today’s an exciting day because you get to hit somebody else, and Week 1’s always exciting because it’s officially starting," Meyer said. "We can get to play Onaway, and these guys didn’t get to last year. I think Micah’s (Bailey) got good stuff going on over there, but our boys are definitely chomping at the bit to get out on the field against somebody with something on the scoreboard versus a scrimmage setting."

Inland Lakes heads to Onaway for a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday, Aug. 29.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: What were the main takeaways from Inland Lakes football's Friday home scrimmage?