Utica takes its time in football passing scrimmages

UTICA — Hayden Piper made sure no heads were hanging among his Utica teammates Tuesday.

It is July, and the results are secondary. Utica football continued its preparations for the 2024 season, hosting East Knox, River View and Liberty Union for passing scrimmages.

“A lot of these guys are getting varsity reps for the first time,” said Piper. “I have been playing varsity for a few years now, and I made mistakes.”

Utica’s senior quarterback, Piper helped the program qualify for the postseason for the first time in two decades last season.

“It’s all about learning that you are going to make mistakes,” he said. “It’s how you get better after you make those mistakes.”

Aside from Piper, Utica is replacing most of its starters at the skill positions, so the preseason is a time for trial and error.

Coach Charlie Rowley freely substituted and altered positions. Junior Kamden Hall and sophomore Aaron Hays also took snaps at quarterback with returning defensive starters seniors Gavin Tussey, Nick Drumm and Carson Meek each catching touchdown passes. Those three will likely see an increased workload on the offensive side of the ball this fall.

“We are really just trying to get reps in at the moment,” Rowley said. “We are rotating guys in, rotating guys around, getting a look at everybody. We are still able to compete without keeping score. A little bit of reps, a little bit of camaraderie, a little bit of competition is good for us.”

Utica scrimmaged East Knox and River View before heavy rains cut short its scrimmage with Liberty Union after a few plays.

It is the beginning of the sprint toward kickoff against visiting Centerburg on Aug. 23. Utica plans to spend Thursday and Friday at Ashland University and has its toughness challenge Saturday before competing in another set of passing scrimmages July 24 at New Lexington and holding its lift-a-thon two days later.

“Right now it’s all about having fun and team bonding, so this Ashland trip is going to be really big for us,” Piper said. “We have to mesh before we do anything.”

Utica experienced a few expected hiccups against a veteran East Knox team. Both the offensive and defensive units rebounded against River View.

The team also will look different in August when it is no longer playing in seven-on-seven scrimmages and thus adds its senior-dominated offensive and defensive lines into the mix. They participated in lineman challenges with East Knox and River View on Tuesday.

“The big thing I want to coach early on is effort,” Rowley said. “Your effort shouldn’t change regardless of what the play is or who you are against. We need good quality game-speed reps. We are going to make a ton of mistakes obviously, but we are concerned about effort and attitude.”

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

740-973-4541

Instagram: @newarkurt

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Utica takes its time in football passing scrimmages