Sports

In Scrimmage, Hammond Scoreless Against Baltimore’s Edmondson Westside

by James Dresbach

 

Hammond High School safety Paskell Cheeves knocks the football away from an Edmondson Red Storm receiver during a preseason scrimmage in Columbia Friday evening. Edmondson Westside High School defeated the Golden Bears 12-0.
Hammond High School safety Paskell Cheeves knocks the football away from an Edmondson Red Storm receiver during a preseason scrimmage in Columbia Friday evening. Edmondson Westside High School defeated the Golden Bears 12-0. Photo by JERMAIN RANGASAMMY
The Baltimore Edmondson Westside High School Red Storm visited Columbia’s Hammond High School for preseason scrimmage with the Golden Bear varsity football team Friday evening. The Red Storm headed back to Baltimore with a 12-0  victory.
 
With a heat index approaching 100 degrees on the Hammond turf, Edmondson scored on pass plays of 75 and 5 yards during the twilight practice game. The Golden Bears did show flashes of offensive and defensive intensity, but the two defensive smudges sent coach  Shawn Frederick searching for positives in his team’s dress rehearsal performance.
 
“I really like the way you responded in the second half,” Frederick told his squad after the scrimmage. “What it boils down to is focus and intensity on Friday nights.”
 
The defense held their own in the first quarter. Defensive end Travon Brooks and Aaron Powell combined for a quarterback sack during the scrimmage’s opening series. Marquell Marshall followed with another sack, and safety Paskell Cheeves intercepted an Edmondson pass and returned the pick 42 yards into Red Storm territory.
 
Cheeves finished the first half with three solo tackles and batted away two would-be Red Storm completions.
 
The scoreless tie ended in the second quarter when Edmondson scored from their own 25-yard line on a quick-hitting fly pattern with two minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the first half.
 
The Golden Bears managed to run just four offensive plays from scrimmage in the third quarter as the Red Storm turned an 80-yard drive into a five-yard touchdown pass.
Hammond Golden Bears Varsity Coach Shawn Frederick goes over the rules with his team and the Baltimore Edmondson Westside High School football squad before the August 26 scrimmage at Hammond High School. EWHS turned two touchdown passes into a 12-0 victory.
Hammond Golden Bears Varsity Coach Shawn Frederick goes over the rules with his team and the Baltimore Edmondson Westside High School football squad before the August 26 scrimmage at Hammond High School. EWHS turned two touchdown passes into a 12-0 victory. Photo by JERMAIN RANGASAMMY
Cheeves also contributed on the offensive side of the line of scrimmage. The senior caught a 15-yard pass in the fourth quarter.
 
“We’re just working on getting better each day,” Frederick said after the scrimmage. “That’s our goal. We had some guys step up who needed to step up. We’re just one assignment, one technique away to being the team we can be. I thought we handled adversity well coming out in the second half.”
 
The Golden Bears open the regular season Friday at Hammond High School against Ellicott City’s Centennial High School. Game time is 7 p.m.