Friday, August 30, 1996

Wylie scrimmaging San Angelo Lake View

By MARK WILSON
Staff Writer

SAN ANGELO - Wylie will line up tonight against a team expected to be one of the best in Class 4A in its final preseason football scrimmage.

San Angelo Lake View will host the Bulldogs' varsity starting at 7 p.m. The freshmen are slated to begin at 5 p.m., followed by the junior varsity at 6 p.m. The scrimmage will be played at Lake View Stadium, which shares a parking lot with San Angelo Coliseum.

The Chiefs are ranked No. 19 in the Class 4A preseason poll in Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine.

Lake View features quarterback Sterlin Gilbert, who passed for 1,827 yards a year ago. Lake View, the defending District 4-4A champion, has five offensive and seven defensive starters back from a 9-2-1 team.

Receiver Morris Smith caught 21 passes, and running back Adam Binnix gained 720 yards on only 97 carries.

Defensively, the strength of coach Kyle Gandy's Lake View squad could be in its linebacking corps, with three returning starters.

In last week's scrimmage against Class 5A San Angelo Central, the Chiefs were outscored 2-1 when the first teamers were on the field.

The Bulldogs scrimmaged Class 2A Stamford last week, and each team recorded three touchdowns - although one of Stamford's came on an interception return.

While Wylie played a competitive scrimmage, coach Hugh Sandifer is still noticing a lack of spark in some practices.

"They're not all like that," Sandifer said. "It's not a deal that won't be correctable. It's not to the point it's a problem. It's just something we know we can do better, and the kids are working to correct that.

"Our attitude is still good, and the effort is still good. We've got to start getting consistent in our workouts."

Wylie's defense allowed Stamford's Clarence Whitfield 135 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

"Our open-field tackling was not real good, and we've worked real hard on that this week," Sandifer said. "We've got to improve on our point-of-attack blocking from our linemen and running backs."
Sandifer said that once again Brady Hall and Grant Gregg would share time playing quarterback with the first unit.

"I thought both did well," Sandifer said. "They both threw touchdown passes, and they both threw the ball well. We've got two good players at the position, and we're going to try to utilize that. It's not that big of a deal to me. They both have different talents, and they both can add different things to the team.

"I wish all our positions were like that, with people battling for starting spots. We need to have other guys step up at other positions and take leadership roles."

Linebacker Aaron Calhoun, offensive tackle Brad Stephenson and defensive tackle Kevin Cornelius - who sat out the Stamford scrimmage with injuries - will remain out this week in preparation for the team's season opener next Friday at home against Hamlin.

Tonight's scrimmage will include 20 offensive plays for each team's first team, followed by 15 apiece for the second teams and then two timed quarters.