Denham Springs High's Treveon Muse (5) takes a hit from Catholic High's Harper Massey (2) as he runs the ball during Friday's scrimmage Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Treveon Muse (5) dodges a tackle attempt by a Catholic High defender during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Treveon Muse takes a handoff from Luke Lunsford (12) during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Kaleb Drummer (13) cuts up the field as Catholic's Tywon McDowell (5) makes the tackle during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's DJ Williams (7) blocks Catholic's Esten Fuselier (15) during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Treveon Muse (5) runs the ball down the sideline during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Treveon Muse (5) gets tackled by two Catholic defenders during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High quarterback Luke Lunsford (12) passes to Brycen Longley during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High receiver Brycen Longley (11) fends off a tackle attempt by Catholic's Esten Fuselier (15) during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Nick Carlton (93), shown in preseason scrimmage against Catholic High: "When we’re pinned in the corner, we always find a way to fight through."
Denham Springs High's Richard Peck (21) attempts to tackle Catholic's Joshua Parker (6) during a scrimmage Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Richard Peck (21) tackles Catholic's Joshua Parker (6) during Friday's scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High's Richard Peck (21) pushes Catholic's Joshua Parker (6) out of bounds during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham Springs High's Richard Peck (21) tackles Catholic's Roy Forrest (7) during a scrimmage on Aug. 17, 2018.
Denham Springs High football coach Bill Conides signals to his players during Friday's scrimmage against Catholic on Friday.
Denham Springs High football coach Bill Conides watches Friday's scrimmage against Catholic High.
Denham Springs High's John McDaniel (15) passes during Friday's scrimmage against Catholic.
Preston Holwager (24) of Denham Springs High takes a hit from Catholic's Beau Bacas (36) during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham Springs High's Patrick Isadore (25) prepares to take the handoff from John McDaniel (15) during Friday's scrimmage against Catholic High.
Denham Springs High's Patrick Isadore attempts to get through a tackle attempt by Catholic defender as he runs the ball during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham Springs High's Connor Croghan (59) tackles Catholic's Tytan Henley (88) during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham's David Aime (67) works against Catholic's Sam Cole V (75) during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham's David Aime (67) works against Catholic's Sam Cole V during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham Springs High's Hagen Parra (40), Tristen Bueche (42) and Spike Brasseaux (20) take down Catholic's Jake Outlaw (21) during Friday's scrimmage.
Denham's Connor Croghan (59) works against Catholic's Sam Cole V (75) during Friday's scrimmage.
BATON ROUGE -- What a difference a year makes.
And to Denham Springs High football coach Bill Conides, it’s a difference for the better.
At least that’s how the second-year DSHS coach explained it after his Yellow Jackets faced off against defending Division I state champion Catholic High in a scrimmage Friday night.
During the scrimmage, both teams sent out their first-string offenses and defenses for two eight-play series apiece. There was also one red zone series for each side and a live first-quarter simulation.
Catholic High outscored Denham Springs 14-7 in the live quarter.
Though it was just one outing, Conides liked what he saw from his squad in its first test of the season.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “The only time we really stalled on a drive was when we had a penalty, so if we just fix those penalties, we’ll be in great shape. We had a couple illegal man downfield penalties and a holding penalty, but those are things that we can easily correct.”
The stars for Denham Springs offensively were quarterback Luke Lunsford and receiver D.J. Williams. The quarterback-receiver duo connected five times for 101 yards in the 12-minute simulation, including a 60-yard post that Williams took in for a score.
Despite throwing a pick at the end of the scrimmage, Lunsford finished the day 13-for-23 for 202 yards, with Williams gobbling up nine of those passes for a total of 148 yards. The pair also connected for a 10-yard touchdown during the scrimmage, but it was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty.
On the ground, Treveon Muse led the Yellow Jackets with a combined 14 carries for 56 yards. As a team, the DSHS first-string running backs tallied 18 carries for 78 yards (4.05 per carry).
“I thought we were very explosive on offense,” Conides said. “DJ Williams and Luke Lunsford were lights out. Trey Muse running the football was fantastic. From a skill position standpoint, I thought we were really good. We had a lot of explosive plays tonight.”
On defense, Conides lauded the Yellow Jackets for being “extremely competitive, especially against a team as good as Catholic.”
The DSHS first-string defense kept the Bears out of the end zone in the first two series of the scrimmage, with one ending in an interception by Richard Peck, who jumped up and snatched the ball away from CHS receiver Jalen Toaston.
Though the defense gave up two touchdowns on three drives during the first-quarter simulation, Conides pointed out that one of those scores was the result of a shanked punt that put the Bears at the 30-yard line going in.
“We know what we have to fix, and our coaches do a great job of getting our guys prepared and fixing mistakes,” Conides said. “We feel really good. I tell you what, I feel a lot better than I did 365 days ago.”
