Griffin High and Spalding High both played their end-of-spring practice scrimmage football games this week and while the play for both squads was raw, there were some positives: Spalding’s Navy team and Griffin’s Gold team moved the ball well down the field on the Silver and Green teams, respectively, and there was some good hitting happening on defense. Both coaching staffs hope to see improvements when summer workouts begin next month.

SHOW YOUR STUFF: Griffin High head football coach Steve DeVoursney said the college scouts who came out to last Thursday’s Green and Gold Game were very impressed with several of the young players on his team, particularly rising freshmen Anferney Stroud at quarterback, Nic Williams at linebacker and Kingston Fuller at free safety.

“The scouts, who came from Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State, really liked some of the young guys, especially the guys who’ll be freshmen next year,” DeVoursney said. “That’s one of the positives about playing for Griffin High — scouts come down and want to see who’s got potential. It’s great for them to get exposure at a young age.”

METHOD TO THE MADNESS: Spalding High head football coach Nick Davis said he assigned a lot of his young players to play with the veterans on both the Navy and Silver teams last Friday to have a lot of depth at each position. He wanted them all coached up the same way so everyone could receive teaching opportunities at the same time.

“We want to be successful on all our levels of football, from the ninth grade team to the JV to the varsity,” Davis said. “If the 1’s and 2’s go down, we want to be able to have the young guys step right in and play. You’ve got to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

ALL FOR ONE: Eddrick “Nukie Man” Johnson, a rising senior linebacker at Griffin High, was on the losing Green team Thursday. He wasn’t happy with that, but he was more unhappy with how the rest of the Green squad took the loss to the Gold team.

“We’re all one team — there wasn’t really a losing team at all. I had to make the young guys understand that,” Johnson said.

DOING THE DIRTY WORK: One might think the lifeblood of the Spalding High football team may be the offensive and defensive linemen, but that’s not altogether true. The people who do the real dirty work and are the real pulse of the team are Spalding’s three female managers: Juniors Hannah Hight and twins Savannah and Elizabeth Edwards.

You will see the three of them in the trainer cart, bringing the water jugs, pylons, cones and other accessories needed for the team. They’re responsible for filling the water bottles, washing the jerseys and passing out equipment. They help the Spalding High trainer, Paul Hubbard, with anything he needs for the players as well.

“We’re learning to wrap ankles and wrists and all that stuff as well,” Hight said. “We even put the air in the helmets and fix them when we can. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Sometimes we even go to early morning practice and help the guys,” Elizabeth Edwards said.

“That wasn’t that much fun, being up at 5 in the morning,” Savannah Edwards said.

All three girls said they love football and want to be around the sport for as long as they can, possibly majoring in Sports Medicine or Sports Management in college. They hope to possibly work for any NFL franchises one day and maybe for a Super Bowl-bound team.

“How cool would it be to work for a team that makes it to the Super Bowl? That would be awesome,” they said.

LET’S ROLL — TOGETHER: Johnson said there is a big difference in playing on the Griffin High football team last year compared to this spring. Griffin had 26 seniors last season so everyone knew what to do and where to go at each position. It was a bit different at the Green and Gold game this year.

“When the plays started, I’d be ready to go and I’d be by myself. I was looking for my teammates and they were behind me a bit. I guess that’s how it goes with a young team,” said Johnson. “We just have to get on the same page, that’s all.”