FACING THE HEAT

After surviving first scrimmage against perennial powerhouse West, Class 3A, DII Clifton Cubs take on Class 3A, DI’s 17th-ranked Whitney in final test

Granted, every Texas high school football program holds its own gauge for measuring success in a scrimmage in preparation for the upcoming season. With the Clifton offensive attack still searching for its groove, the Cub defensive unit showed numerous moments of brilliance with an aggressive and swarming assault against the perennial powerhouse West Trojans in both teams first live action against an opponent last Friday night.

“Like we told the kids, we knew West would be a good football team,” Clifton football head coach Brent Finney said. “They are a well-coached team and had quite a few players back from a DI playoff team. That is why we scrimmage them. It is always a good test for us and we find out real fast the things we need to work on and things we do well.”

The Cubs will try to take it to the next level against another talented Class 3A, DI playoff-caliber team when Clifton hits the road to face the 17th-ranked Whitney Wildcats in their final scrimmage at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“That is what scrimmages are for, to get you ready for the real games that matter,” Finney said. “And it will not get any easier this week with Whitney. They are also a good D1 playoff team. West was very big up front on both sides of the ball. Whitney will be a very athletic and fast paced tempo team. So, we will see how we can hold up to that fast-paced style on Thursday.”

Whitney enters the season picked to finish second in District 5-3A, DI behind the eighth-ranked and defending district champion Grandview Zebras. With four offensive and four defensive starters returning, the Wildcat remain loaded at the skill positions with quarterback Mason Seeley, wide receiver Kaden Tanner, running back Jontae Johnson and the multi-talented coach’s son Kobe Haynes.

With West predicted to finish third behind Whitney and Grandview in District 5-3A, DI, the Trojans gave Clifton a taste of what lies ahead last Friday night. Going up against West’s huge, experienced defensive front led by David Klander and Ayden Poteet, the rebuilt Cub offensive unit struggled to put anything together.

“We felt like the effort was very good from our kids,” Finney said. “We did a lot of things well. We knew going into this season that we had a lot of inexperienced kids starting for the first time in a varsity game, so we would have some learning to do. Again, that is why we scrimmage, to get that experience.”

Despite giving up two big scoring plays during the controlled segment of the scrimmage, the Cub defense finally allowed a sustained drive for another touchdown during the 15-minute running clock live segment.

“We have some kids out with injuries and our depth is an issue,” Finney said. “So as the scrimmage went on, we began to get tired, and West was able to take advantage of that. We have to continue to develop some depth and keep working to get in better shape.”

Both the competition and the temperatures will continue to boil this week as the weather forecast predicts another six straight days of 100-plus degree sweltering heat. But for the Cubs, there’s still plenty of work to do to get ready for the season opener against the Riesel Indians at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 in Cub Stadium.

“Our kids played very hard and with great effort,” Finney said. “And we are excited to see how much they improve from week to week getting ready to head into District 5-3A play.”