The Opp Middle School football team completed their spring with a scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon at Opp’s Channell-Lee Stadium.

“I saw some exciting players and explosive plays,” Opp High School head coach Brent Hill said. “There are a lot of things to build on, and that’s an exciting thing.”

The Bobcats got a strong showing from quarterback Hal Smithart.

“Hal ended up taking about 30 percent of the snaps towards the end of the last year,” Middle School head coach Chad Johnson said. “We are really a step ahead with him. Today, he made a lot of good throws and I was really proud of the way he played.”

Smithart connected with Erik Matthews early in the opening quarter for a first down.

A few plays later, Matthews took a reverse and went 59 yards to the end zone.

“I really liked the way the our offense played as whole,” Johnson said. “They knew that there wasn’t going to be one person that would make a difference and they had to play together.”

One group that particular impressed Johnson were the big guys up front creating the wholes.

“I was especially impressed with the lineman up front,” Johnson said. “They created big holes that allowed us to accomplish what we did on offense. Cameron Harrison, Brady Lester, Hart Bodry, Brayden Rasnek, Chandler Pyron and Grayson Stack have each come a long way over the spring. At the start of the spring, our defense was just stuffing us, but towards the end of the spring they really came together.”

Jordan Kelley had a big game on the ground for the OMS Bobcats, and it caught his coach’s eyes.

“Jordan has really come a long way over the spring,” Johnson said. “When we timed our players, he was the second fastest player on the team. He has a ton of raw speed and talent, but he just didn’t really know what to do once he had the ball in the hands at the beginning of spring. Now, we have taught him how to follow his blocks and use his speed when a hole opens up.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Kevin Parreria wreaked havoc on the offensive line.

“Kevin did a great job today,” Johnson said. “He is a leader up front. He actually wasn’t feeling very well today, but he still came out here and caused a ton of problems up front.

The OMS Bobcats will open the season on Aug. 25, on the road against Slocomb.