It’s not that the Wildcats played their best football - far from it, actually.
Temple made enough good plays on both sides of the ball to see its potential, including three 70-yard touchdowns and a 56-yard score on offense, plus some physical defense.
The Wildcats also made enough mistakes on both sides - errant passes, fumbles, several blown pass coverages that led to scores - to know they have plenty of work left to do before their Sept. 5 season opener at Cedar Park.
Temple fourth-year coach Bryce Monsen said his team got about what it expected out of its first of two scrimmages.
“It’s a scrimmage, and I think they played well and I also think we played well,” said Monsen, whose team went 7-4 and won the District 13-5A championship at 6-0 last year. “That’s what we needed to see, so it was good for us and it was one of the most fun scrimmages we’ve had here.”
The scrimmage featured 12-play series in which one team’s No. 1 offense faced the other’s top defense before the second-team units took the field, then the order was reversed.
If a score could be kept, it ended up 42-34 in Temple’s favor, though the Wildcats’ first-teamers were outscored 34-28 by the Rangers, whose third-year varsity program is in Class 5A for the first time.
“I think it was good to get our feet wet and get used to the speed of a real game,” Temple junior linebacker Derrick Davis said. “We still have to work on some things.”
On offense, Wildcats senior center Brett Gunn said facing a spirited Vista Ridge squad - which already had one scrimmage and will begin its season Thursday - provided a good test.
“It felt real good to get out here tonight, but we still have a lot to work on,” Gunn said. “They were ready for us. From practice it was a big step up.”
Junior running back Lache Seastrunk, an honorable-mention all-state player last year, rushed for three touchdowns, including a 56-yard score on Temple’s first possession and a 70-yard sprint on its last of the evening. He also had a 1-yard TD.
Baylor-committed receiver Tevin Reese and running back Marcus Jones provided other big plays for the Wildcats.
With Temple trailing 34-28 and having struggled with its passing game for most of the scrimmage, Reese caught a quick toss from quarterback Kevin Lock on the left side, blew past his defender, picked up a big block from Seastrunk along the sideline and broke a tackle inside the 10-yard line to complete a 70-yard score.
Later on that possession, Seastrunk took a handoff to the right, used a hesitation step to freeze a defender and raced in for another 70-yard TD.
Temple was down 28-21 when second-teamer Jones burst up the middle, stiff-armed a defender and cruised in for his 70-yard score.
The Wildcats’ other touchdown was an 8-yard run by Itai Meki, who also hauled in a 35-yard pass from second-team quarterback Isaac Matamoros.
Temple kickers Chris Winkler and Garrett Walsingham were perfect on a combined six extra points.
Pass coverage was a glaring problem for the Wildcats on this night. Vista Ridge struck for two long touchdown passes on its first possession - a 70-yard play and a 62-yard connection, with both receivers getting behind the secondary to reel in deep throws.
The Rangers later added a 53-yard touchdown pass, then a 37-yard scoring reception that followed a 33-yard run.
“Anytime you play a passing team, you’ve got to be disciplined,” Monsen said. “We have to look at the breakdowns in the secondary.
“We’ll have film study tomorrow morning and then we’ll lock it down next week when we go down to Pflugerville Connally.”
