A week after struggling in Temple’s first preseason scrimmage, the Wildcats’ defense rebounded quite nicely Thursday night in a scrimmage against Pflugerville Connally. The defense put together a performance that would have suffocated most opponents.
Now comes the hard part - doing it when it really counts.
The Wildcats beat Connally two touchdowns to one in their final tuneup before their season opener one week from tonight against Cedar Park in Leander.
“I thought defensively they really performed and got better from last week,” Temple coach Bryce Monsen said. “We’re really proud of our defensive kids and our coaches. Our kids did a real good job of correcting their mistakes.”
Last week against Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Temple’s defense gave up four touchdown passes of 30 yards or longer.
Though Monsen didn’t say as much, the defense needed to have a better outing against Connally. The Wildcats looked improved right from the start.
In the first set of 15 plays with Connally’s first-team offense going against Temple’s top defense, the Wildcats kept the Cougars off the scoreboard. Connally had just one play - a designed quarterback run up the middle - longer than 15 yards in that set.
In the Wildcat first-team defense’s second set of plays, it didn’t give up a yard.
After a three-and-out series, linemen Nick Clarke and Nick Crosswhite recovered a fumble on the next play.
Temple forced another turnover two plays later on an interception by linebacker Derrick Davis.
A holding penalty forced a third-and-20 situation and doomed Connally’s last possession of the second set.
Connally scored its touchdown on its first-team offense’s final play, a 56-yard touchdown that burned the right side of Temple’s pass defense.
Other than that, the Wildcats showed Monsen exactly what he wanted to see.
“I thought defensively, they really had a great Wildcat spirit about them,” he said.
Things didn’t go quite as well for the Wildcats on offense.
Temple scored a pair of touchdowns - a 17-yard run by junior Lache Seastrunk that was set up by Kevin Lock’s 23-yard pass to Tevin Reese and a 49-yard TD reception by second-team receiver Drew Shenkir from quarterback Jonathan Bane.
But the Wildcats hurt themselves with too many negative plays and penalties that killed promising drives.
“We’ve got to correct those - you can’t have big penalties,” Monsen said. “I didn’t think we played real well offensively. I hope we play a whole lot better offensively.”
Granted Temple purposely wasn’t running its most exotic offensive plays in the Wing-T, but the solution to Temple’s problems running its basic plays is simple.
“It’s nothing more than execution and concentration on offense,” Monsen said.
Senior quarterback Lock once again took all the snaps with the first-team offense. Both senior Bane and junior Isaac Matamoros saw time with the second team.
Monsen, though, isn’t ready to name a starter. That’s a decision, he said, that will be made next week.
“Kevin’s been in the first huddle the whole time and has done a great job and will continue to do so,” he said. “Jonathan’s been doing a great job. Obviously, he’s making improvements and learning our offense. We’re pleased with both of them.”
