MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As the Preston High football team prepares to open its season this week, ball security will likely be at the forefront of the team’s game plan.
The Knights struggled keeping the ball in their hands Friday as they hosted University for a preseason scrimmage — turning the ball over on multiple possessions. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Thomas said he plans to work on his precision and pocket awareness while under pressure to better control the turnover margin.
“I have to improve on rolling out more,” he said. “The offensive line got blown up there for a little, but we weren’t doing bad at the beginning.
“I just need to work on throwing the ball more on the run and improving the accuracy there. I’ve got to be able to get that footwork down.”
Preston coach Jonathan Tennant added that turnovers haven’t seemed to be an every-day problem so far this preseason, and believes that much of the team’s struggles on that end were because of transitioning to game speed.
He expects the problem will become less prominent as the young team learns to adjust to in-game scenarios better, and plans to spend some time in the film room this week correcting those mistakes.
“In practice, we haven’t been turning it over, but that’s just practice. In a game situation like this, things are different,” Tennant said. “The secondary runs a lot faster on Friday nights than Tuesday afternoon.
“We just have to look at the film and move on. This is what scrimmages are for, and with our quarterback, we’ll be fine. We’ll make the right adjustments. I’m confident.”
PHS will travel to Hampshire for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
