Spring football: Mortimer Jordan 13, Pinson Valley 7

In last Friday’s scrimmage to mark the end of spring football practice, Mortimer Jordan’s staff learned that they have a pretty solid defensive secondary.

Pinson Valley learned that they’re as young as they thought they were, and that some extra help on the sideline can’t come soon enough.

“That was my last ever job as an offensive coordinator. I fired the OC,” Indians head coach Matt Glover said after his varsity squad lost with a 13-6 score in two quarters of play.

The coordinator situation will be resolved soon enough, as a new hire could be approved by the Jefferson County Board of Education as early as Thursday’s regular monthly meeting.

But the youth problem won’t be quite as easy to solve, as Glover breaks in junior-to-be quarterback Errius Collins, who had his good moments and his bad in the scrimmage.

The good came on a touchdown pass with 1:06 left in the first period, which receiver Trey Underwood snatched on a leaping catch at the sideline, just over the head of Blue Devils defender Connor Bruce. That score turned out to be the only one of the day for the Tribe.

Collins also showed his ability to get out of trouble, as he scrambled under heavy pressure to turn a likely sack into a first down. He took the long route, heading first toward the far sideline and then all the way back across the field, looking for a moment like his better-known backfield mate, running back and Mr. Football candidate Nick Gibson.

The bad came when Collins was intercepted  three times in the last six minutes of the scrimmage, all when Pinson had moved deep into Jordan territory. Two of the picks came at the hands of senior-to-be Devonte Lewis, who swiped one Collins throw at the 3-yard line to halt a promising Indians drive with 2:27 left.

The third interception came from rising junior Colby Moon, who picked off the throw at the 10 and ran it all the way back to the end zone for an apparent touchdown with 49 seconds to play. The score was nullified, though, with a penalty in the runback.

“He [Collins] has to learn to trust his offense. He’s been used to doing everything in JV,” Glover said.

For Jordan, senior-to-be running back Landon Smith showed even more of the flashes of excellence that he displayed last season, as he ran for both of the Devils’ touchdowns. The second came on a long ramble for 62 yards halfway through the second period.

One thing was also obvious about this Jordan squad: they are bigger than almost all of their predecessors of the past few years.

“I hope the kids see this today and build on it,” Devils coach Dusty Goode said. “If we stay together and have a positive attitude and a good summer, I think we’ll be competitive next fall with anyone we play.”