Apaches go on road to Beeville for first scrimmage

The Gonzales Apaches squared off against the Beeville Trojans for the first scrimmage of the season Friday, Aug. 16.

Third-year head football coach Joey Rivera was impressed what he saw on both offense and defense at the first scrimmage.

“It was good to see our kids out competing again and making some good plays both offensively and defensively. And it was a good first scrimmage. I was able to get a lot of film on on our kids, and lots of evaluation that we're able to do,” Rivera said.

Rivera saw some explosive plays for 70-plus yard gains at the scrimmage and positive plays, he said.

“I don't think we busted any routes or run plays, so we’re moving in the right direction, with all that, we were able to get lined up defensively, and I thought we played with a lot of effort, which was definitely a positive,” Rivera said.

Rivera will be working on figuring out how to get his athletes the ball more this season and staying physical up front for the run game, he said.

“Also we’re looking at defensively rotating a lot of players to keep them fresh for both sides of the ball, and then obviously coming up, we have special teams that is going to be a huge deal for us,” Rivera said.

The Apaches will hit the road Thursday, Aug. 22 for their last scrimmage against the No. 9-ranked Goliad Tigers (3A Division I).

“We look for tough opponents. They're about an hour down the road from us, and I believe they played three or four rounds deep last year. They are very competitive, 318 kids, I think they've entered this season No. 9 in the state, so I thought it'd be a good test for our kids going into the season,” Rivera said.

The Apaches kick off their season at home against the San Antonio Central Catholic Buttons Friday, Aug. 30.