Published on: Thursday, August 26, 2010

By Brandy L. Simms

Senior Brandon Simms — a former running back who turned quarterback — passed, ran and blocked as the James Hubert Blake Bengals hit the field for their first scrimmage of the pre-season Friday at Montgomery Blair High School.

“I’m content,” Bengals head coach Tony Nazzaro said after the scrimmage. “I’m not happy; I’m not mad. The penalties and lack of discipline frustrated me the most, but I definitely thought that we played well.”

The Bengals and the Montgomery Blair Blazers first teams were consistent in exchanging yardage on the offensive side of the ball; however, the Bengals managed to punch in a couple touchdowns where as the Blazers could not.

Despite the Blazers’ inability to put up points with their first string offense, their defense put a lot of pressure on the Bengals quarterbacks. Varsity defensive coordinator and junior varsity head coach Adrian Kelly said his defense needs improvements, but overall, he expects good results from the varsity squad this season.

“The scrimmage was good,” Kelly said. “We were undisciplined in our reads as far as the run goes, but I expect us to be a competitive team this year. Last year we were three-and-seven and this year I expect the exact opposite.”

The Bengals started out slow on both sides of the ball, but as time progressed, the team got stronger. Late in the game, the Bengals intercepted the ball for what could have been a pick-six if the play was not blown dead by the referee due to the fact that it was a scrimmage and not a game. The Bengals ended their spout on the defensive side of the ball, and assistant head coach Julian Bolton said he was impressed with his team’s performance but wishes they would start off the game with the same intensity.

“I’m liking what I see,” Bolton said at the end of the game. “If we need to work on anything, it’s starting out at the intensity level we are playing at now (at the end of the game).”