Apalachee ties 6-6 in road spring scrimmage against Dacula

After that, the Falcons opened the scoring in the game with under six minutes remaining in the first half. They struck gold with a quick scoring drive, culminating in a 23-yard touchdown reception.

They had three different plays of double-digit yards on the drive – a 14-yard rush following a Wildcat sack and a 36-yard reception, setting up the aforementioned scoring play.

The momentum appeared to be going in Dacula’s direction from there after they immediately followed their score with a fumble recovery, which set the Falcons up with a short, 22-yard field.

However, the Wildcats bounced back on the first snap, forcing an interception. They got to the quarterback quickly, and rising senior Brett Sharp picked the ball out of the air immediately.

“Our kids showed a lot of resiliency,” head coach Mike Hancock said after the scrimmage. “God put me a heck of a staff together. We’ve got a lot of good (players), but I also have a lot of good coaches who are gonna coach our kids up. (This scrimmage) just showed that our kids have bought into what our coaching staff is preaching, not just me.”

Defense continued to be the story of the game throughout the rest of the game. The Wildcats forced four more turnovers in the second half, for a total of seven turnovers forced in the game.

One of those turnovers proved to be significant in the result of the game as rising senior Josh Abraham intercepted one of Dacula’s quarterbacks as time expired in the third quarter. Those six points were Apalachee’s only points throughout the game.

“That was big,” Hancock said. “He hadn't played much. He could have been pouting, but he didn't. He got his opportunity and ran with it. That's the thing moving forward. Sure, every kid wants more reps. He probably earned a lot more reps out there.”

“It’s just excitement. I'm a defensive guy. So, I love pick sixes. I love turnovers. We did a heck of a job, and our defensive staff did a heck of a job.”

The Wildcats also didn’t allow for a Falcon first down in the second half after allowing four in the first half.

“I think the big thing (for us) defensively, our intensity was really good,” Hancock said. “We got good pressure on the quarterback and had a couple of breakdowns in their secondary. I thought we had really good pressure up front.”

Overall in the scrimmage, fans got a glimpse of what Wildcat football will look like in the fall.

Although rising senior running back Prince Tate was out with an injury, the depth of the running back room showed in the game. Rising junior Favian Williford was showcased as the feature back Friday night and finished with 13 rushes for 55 yards.

Rising senior quarterback Howard Holloway finished with 10-for-19 passing for 37 yards. He also had three rushes for negative net yards, as he attempted to escape out of bad situations after the defensive line was about to blow up the Wildcats’ plays.

“(In the summer), the growth point is going to be our O-line,” Hancock said. “They’ve got to get better. We got great kids. It’s just we're young up front. So, (it’s going to come down to) those guys getting here this summer, grinding it out.”

“We're gonna get bigger and stronger in the summer, we're just gonna try to get that mentally tough attitude that I want.”

With Apalachee’s No. 1 receiver option last year graduating this month, there were increased reps for other offensive weapons in the scrimmage. Rising seniors Undre Burton and Traver Park had multiple targets and receptions in the game. Rising senior receiver Bryson Garner also had Apalachee’s only reception of over 10 yards.