Petaluma offense looks to be ahead of defense

Trojan offense looks good in football scrimmages against Windsor and Marin Carrillo.|

Fresh after hosting their annual multi-team football scrimmage, the Petaluma High School Trojans can now concentrate on games that count when they open the regular season by hosting Montgomery on Friday night at 7:30. As in the scrum last week, all scheduled Trojan home contests will be played at Casa Grande High School this season while Petaluma’s Ellison Field is being completely renovated.

The Trojans took turns playing Maria Carrillo and Windsor on Friday in the controlled scrimmage in front of an enthusiastic group of onlookers. Each of the teams was allotted a set number of offensive plays with competition on each side of the midfield stripe. Offense took center stage as each of the teams has one more week to make adjustments on the defensive side of the ball.

San Marin opened with Windsor on the other side of the playing field and finished against Maria Carrillo later in the evening.

“Scrimmage is always a learning experience for everybody,” Trojan coach Rick Krist said. “We are not as concerned with who wins. Some kids step forward and the coaches look for that. Scores can often come when different combinations of players are out there. Our team might not look the same in three or four weeks.”

Most of the early play involving Petaluma was dominated by offense. Maria Carrillo was able to move the ball effectively by mixing up a ground attack and well-thrown passes. The Pumas punched across several scores from a 35-yard-line starting point. The Trojan defensive coaches took advantage of the controlled-time situation to rotate in many players who got their first taste of the quicker varsity competition.

Petaluma battled back during its time of possession to move the ball efficiently under the direction of senior quarterback Justin Wolbert. The Trojans drove the ball into scoring territory three times, alternating running plays with occasional completions by Wolbert. Included were medium-distance touchdowns by juniors Garrett Freitas and Jacob Havard.

As the scrimmage moved into later minutes, the Trojans got some improved play from their defensive wing players, who buttoned up their coverage of the outside routes of Carrillo and Windsor receivers. Veteran cornerback Erick Diaz and his teammates moved up to close the passing lanes along the sidelines in the late going.

The Trojans also picked up their pass rush in the second half of the scrimmage, but just wrapped up opposing passers to avoid risk of injury.

“That came from me,” noted Krist. “Luke Haggard had a good night, but we held up on what could have been quarterback sacks. Keep your eye on Haggard. He is due for a very good year.”

Petaluma was able to move the ball against Windsor in the second half of the competition, which pleased the Trojan staff. “It was very physical,” noted Krist. “We probably won’t play too many teams who hit like that.”

Krist singled out Freitas for his play against both opponents. Freitas sprinted past Maria Carrillo to reach pay dirt in the opening Petaluma drive.

Also earning mention was quarterback Cole Powers. “We are going to have to find a spot for Cole,” Krist said. “He has improved since our opening practice this season.”

Powers moved the team quite well, and he did not back away from contact on a couple of running plays.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.