Canes outnumbered but not outmatched in inaugural preseason scrimmage.
06/13/2010

The Hurricanes tested their mettle in their first pre-season scrimmage. The Canes faced a veteran team in the Greenville Seminoles who won the CCFL championship last year.  The Canes had 25 athletes who were present at this game and played both sides of the ball. While the Canes played valiantly the Seminoles outnumbered the Canes with a full roster and took advantage of the Canes mistakes.

The defense lead by Curtis Issac and Jason Smith stood up to allow less than 50 yards in rushing. The Seminoles spread the Canes with an aerial assault taking advantage of the slant route and using their speed to get into the Canes Red Zone. The defense would stand up and stop the Seminoles on 4 of 6 redzone attempts. However the Seminoles would score on two pass plays. One of which appeared to be out of bounds in the back of the endzone. The defense would also score with a forced fumble and scoop and score by Chris McMath who ran the fumble back for 60 yards eluding the Seminole defenders. 

 The Canes offense were riddled with penalties and played with a makeshift offensive line. This disadvantage led to limited execution of the offensive game plan. Both QB's Aaron Richardson & Dontia Middleton were befuddled and flushed out of the pocket by a blitzing defense whose early penetration led to quick releases of the ball and 5 subsequent interceptions, two of which were taken back for touchdowns.  Though the offense did not score any touchdowns the Canes did show they could move the ball with the outstanding game play of Jerome Kennedy who also played both ways. 

This first scrimmage was a great exercise to evaluate this new teams chemistry and athleticism. With several players missing (offensive linemen, wide recievers, defensive linemen, Corner Backs, & Linebackers) due to prior commitments the Canes still looked pretty good for their first scrimmage. They got the chance to be in a game like situation and experience some physical contact. In the post game wrap up Head Coach Monty stated that "We can only get better and better we will become!" Now the cobwebs are out and the team knows the challenge we have for the upcoming season in a tough Mason Dixon Football league. 

The next preseason Game will likely be scheduled for 06/26 and will be announced soon. The Palmetto Hurricanes would like to share our appreciation for the Greenville Seminoles coming out and providing us some work. We would also like to thank all the Fans that came out to support us. We look forward to a productive and exciting season with your support, THE HURRICANE NATION!