Published: August 16, 2008 12:03 am         

Patriots efficient in scrimmage with Hawks

INDIANAPOLIS — Terre Haute North started on its own 35-yard line and reached paydirt when Chris O’Leary threw a strike to Billy Sisson down the sideline from 22 yards out.

The Patriots, during Friday’s high school football scrimmage against Decatur Central, were as efficient during their next offensive possession, scoring five out of nine times from 10 yards out with the first-string offense.

O’Leary scooted into the end zone on a 10-yard quarterback keeper on the first play and set up a Ben King 1-yard plunge for North’s third touchdown.

The first-year starter at quarterback threw a strike to Aaron Allen two plays later, King added a 4-yard score, and O’Leary hit a third receiver, Daniel Gabbard, for the fifth touchdown.

Sisson, North’s only returning all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference player, caught three passes for 53 yards on the opening drive and added a 23-yard reception later in the scrimmage to pace the Patriots’ offensive prowess.

“I was pleased offensively,” coach Chris Barrett said afterward. “There’s always things you have to keep improving on. We executed pretty well, especially in the red-zone period.”

The Patriots struggled from the beginning of the last 15-play series. O’Leary fumbled the snap and the Hawks swarmed to recover.

North was careless with the pigskin again four plays later when an O’Leary pitch bounced off a North running back and into the hands of defender Ishmael Burris, who sprinted down the sideline 88 yards for a touchdown.

O’Leary hit Allen, a 6-foot-3 junior, in the numbers for a 12-yard pickup five snaps later, but the Patriot starters left the field without having accomplished much in their final period.

“We had some miscues on our mesh with our running plays,” said Barrett, who summed up the night’s offensive play. “Offensively, it was good, but we want to be great so we’ve got some work to do.”

O’Leary said it was a learning experience to go through some struggles late in the scrimmage.

“We came out, including me, I lost some focus. We have to work on that mental toughness. I think we’ll be ready by Friday.”

The North defense left the field wishing it had some plays back. The host Hawks, who lost 26 seniors to graduation from last year’s 8-4 team that beat the Patriots 40-21 in a second-round sectional game, scored just once in their first 15 plays. Six-foot-5 senior quarterback Blake Beasley hit speedy receiver Rob Palmer streaking down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown pass.

Decatur Central added several solid pickups the rest of the series, but the Hawks hurt themselves with two false starts and two delay-of-game penalties on the series.

Out of its 12-play possession from the North 10-yard line, Decatur Central managed three touchdowns. But in the final sequence Beasley hit Palmer from 30 yards out and Travis Powers made a nice move to the outside after catching a pass over the middle to register another big play.

“We had a lot of miscues, however I think it was all coachable stuff,” Barrett said. “I think we’ll get back and watch the film [today], coach them up a little bit better, point out the techniques we need to improve on ... I feel good about that. It’s not that we’re out there getting beat physically.”

More aggressive play from the defensive backs might have prevented the big plays by the Hawks.

“You’ve got to have confidence when you play defense. If we get that aggressive play, that can make up for a lot. We’re not there yet, but we’re going to get there,” Barrett concluded.