Last night, the Trojans took on Legacy of Educational Excellence High from San Antonio (formerly Robert E. Lee HS) in a joint practice and scrimmage. Anderson looked solid in their first action of the year and showed well in all facets of the game. The controlled portion of the scrimmage gave the Trojans chances to get all their players in and get some 11 on 11 experience.
On offense, both quarterbacks Brady Gephart and Max Gerlich showed well and, other than a few overthrows by the pair were able to hit open receivers and showed good pocket presence. While both took first-team reps, Brady did begin the first set of 11v11 drills under center. Gephart hit star receiver Ed Small for multiple touchdowns throughout the evening but also showed the ability to spread the ball around, as he hit running back Dayden Williams out of the backfield for a long touchdown of about 50 yards, 30 of them coming through the air. Brady’s footwork stood out to me, he’s very active in the pocket and promises solid dual-threat ability at quarterback. During the live scrimmage period, Gephart broke out of the pocket to scramble up the left sideline for 40 or so yards. “That was just real fun because that was my first contact of the year,” Brady said of the big run.
Max also impressed as the practice went on making multiple tough throws and commanding the offense with success. On perhaps his best throw of the night, Gerlich scrambled out to his right and made a spectacular throw on the run to nail a receiver in the front corner of the endzone for a score. The arm talent and size are there for Max, he just needs to show the ability to put it all together on the field this season. If he can, it’ll be a sight to see and a huge boost for the Trojans. Whether or not he starts at quarterback, Gerlich is confident in his ability to help the team out this season. “Obviously, I want the position, I come in and compete every day, but at the end of the day, I’m going to help this team no matter where I’m at,” Max told me.
Outside of quarterback play, the off-balance run attack that Anderson featured really stood out. Dayden Williams did a good job running hard between the tackles, but that was far from the only way Anderson pounded the rock. The Trojans showed the ability to use the read option effectively and also found success on end-arounds from players like Ben Hatcher and Zayden Sharp. Coach Hatcher made it clear to me post-scrimmage that the run game is going to be a big part of Anderson’s offense this year. He told me that the Trojans “are going to run for 150 yards a game” this season and that those rushing will be coming in a variety of ways. The staff took a trip up to Kansas State this spring, and Hatcher and his assistants keyed in on how they’ve got to find different ways to get guys the ball. Coach Hatcher wants to go 60/40 favoring the run on offense this season.
On the other side of the ball, the defense showed lots of promise despite being much younger than last year’s. Senior corner Jett Joseph jumped at the chance to haul an underthrown ball in from the Lee quarterback during the controlled portion of practice, but what impressed me the most was the success that Anderson found from their linebackers. The middle portion of the Trojan defense has seen lots of turnover from last year, none more important than the loss of star middle linebacker IV Webb who is now making splashes at SMU. He’s been replaced by his younger brother Gage at the Mike and while it remains to be seen if Gage can fill the big shoes his brother left, last night was a very encouraging sign. Webb made multiple big hits up the middle and showed much promise as a run-stopper. “It’s a lot different not playing with [IV] this year, but it’s fun and I’m looking forward to the season,” Gage told me after the scrimmage.
Overall, the Trojans looked strong in their first scrimmage of the fall. They’ll look to improve and polish things up over the next few weeks ahead of the annual week 1 matchup with McCallum in the Taco Shack Bowl. Make sure to check back with us soon for the latest news, scores, and updates surrounding Anderson Football.
