Getting first look at newcomers in gridiron action, Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs host scrimmage against Class 3A, DI West Trojans
After using the first week of Texas high school football practice for conditioning and reviewing fundamentals, Bosque County put on the pads Monday in preparation of their first of two scrimmages before opening the 2024 season.
Looking for their third straight trip to the Class 3A, Division II playoffs, the Clifton Cubs will begin that quest by hosting the perennial powerhouse West Trojans for a controlled scrimmage at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Cub Stadium. And in doing so, the Cubs will be looking for players to fill the void left by 2023 season’s graduating class.
“We were very pleased with our first week of practice,” said Clifton football head coach Brent Finney entering his third season at the helm. “Starting year three with the same staff and kids doing the same thing now for two years, we have been able to hit the ground running. We have been very focused on getting a lot of reps since we have so many new faces this year.”
Taking on West in their first scrimmage will certainly put the young, inexperienced Cubs to the test. Led by veteran head coach David Woodard, the Trojans will have 24 returning lettermen, including six offensive and seven defensive starters, from last season’s Class 3A, DI playoff squad.
“Scrimmaging West is always good for us,” Finney said. “West is always a big, physical team and well coached. It will be a good early gauge to see where we are at going against a quality opponent like West.”
Using a controlled scrimmage format, the Clifton and West junior varsity squads will face off at 6:30 p.m., followed by the varsity. Following a couple rounds of controlled plays, the two varsities will wrap up the scrimmage by playing a 15-minute running clock live session.
After losing a significant number of lettermen and starters with last season’s large senior class, the Cubs will be looking for replacements at several positions this season. But with last year’s talented juniors moving to the head of the class and a strong sophomore class coming up behind them, Finney likes what he will have to work with this season.
“We will definitely have quite a few holes to fill from graduation, but we are very excited about these guys,” Finney said. “We will be very young and inexperienced, but this group is very coachable and very competitive and you can build on that.”
After already experiencing significant change during each UIL realignment over the last 10 years, the 2024 Cubs will not have a single familiar football opponent in district for the first time since 2017. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football picked Clifton to earn their third straight trip to the playoffs by finishing fourth in District 5-3A, DII behind 11th-ranked Tolar, Eastland and Early, while placing ahead of Brady and Dublin rounding it out.
After the scrimmages against West, the Cubs will follow with a scrimmage against Class 3A, DI’s 17th-ranked Whitney on Aug. 22 before opening the season with a non-district game at home against Riesel Aug. 30
“We have a very challenging non district schedule and two very tough scrimmages, so we will find out a lot about these young guys pretty quickly,” Finney said. “But our expectations never change. The standard is the standard and we expect to be a playoff team every season and be challenging for district and playoff championships.”
During the two scrimmages, the Cub coaching staff will focus on assessing personnel in search for starters on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Clifton will have six returning starters with only four starters returning on defense.
“We have a pretty good group of returning offensive linemen, and it is always huge to have your starting quarterback returning,” Finney said. “However, we graduated a lot of our skill positions, so we will be looking for players to step up and replace that production.
“Defensively, we also have a pretty solid group of returning linemen, but we will have to develop some depth at linebacker and secondary. There will be a lot of different guys getting a lot of reps early, and we will see who can fill those positions. That is the great thing about athletics, going out there and working hard and competing.”
Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS
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