Quarterback Anders Johnson sets up to pass against Westhope. (Photo by Lori Gronvold)

The Rugby Panther football team traveled to Minot last week to scrimmage fellow high schools Westhope, Newburg, Glenburn and Hazen.

According to Head Coach Scott Grochow, these types of scrimmages are a great place not only to find out what you know about your team, but what you don’t know as well. One of the question marks on the team is at quarterback with junior Anders Johnson coming off an injury last year and replacing three-year starter All-State quarterback Brad Heidlebaugh. Grochow said, “Johnson did good, very good. He made some nice reads, and when he missed a read he learned from it. It’s all part of that learning process.”

Defense also stood out well. Blackhawk Jones was kept out for precautionary reasons with a banged up shoulder but should be back for the season opener. All-in-all, Grochow felt the defense held their own; they played some kids at different positions, which turned out to be good according to Grochow. “We find out some things that we needed to.” He continued, “One of the best things about a scrimmage like this is we aren’t hitting each other.”

The season started in earnest Friday evening, with the season opener at home against Bishop Ryan.