Panthers to scrimmage later this week

n A small intrasquad will be either Thursday or Friday.

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
Siloam Springs defensive coordinator Cole Harriman gives safety instructions to Siloam Springs football players during practice Monday at Panther Stadium.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Siloam Springs defensive coordinator Cole Harriman gives safety instructions to Siloam Springs football players during practice Monday at Panther Stadium.

The Siloam Springs football team hopes to simulate a game-like situation in practice later this week, according to head coach Brandon Craig.

"Sometime this week we'll have a small intrasquad (scrimmage)," Craig said. "It won't be too much, but we'll script out 24 to 32 plays. We'll try and line up and do some game-like stuff."

The intrasquad will be held Friday afternoon, Craig said.

The Panthers are scheduled to participate in a scrimmage at Rogers Heritage on Aug. 21.

"That's one thing about Arkansas that's different than Oklahoma," said Craig, who coached several years in Oklahoma before coming to Siloam Springs in 2018. "We usually got two scrimmages, so we would do a scrimmage this week and a scrimmage next week. It really helped you fill in the gaps. You used that scrimmage film to get better for the next scrimmage. By the time you got to Week 1 things were starting to seal up pretty good.

"I wish we had a scrimmage this week, something meaningful so we can get our kids on film against someone else. But we've got another week of preparation, so we'll go through that and then move into our big scrimmage against Heritage."

The Panthers began fall camp on Aug. 3 after getting the approval for wearing helmets and shoulder pads by state officials on July 31.

Teams were allowed to don full pads on Saturday, but the Panthers were still in half shells on Monday.

Craig said the team would likely have several practices later this week in full pads to acclimate for the upcoming season.

"We don't do a lot of full pads (workouts)," he said. "Once the season starts, probably never."

Craig said the players need to adjust to the feel of wearing full pads and how to play properly with them on.

"Learn how to go to the ground, learn how to land and not stick your arms out, things like that," he said. "It's just a progression. Learn how to fit your pads, learn how to carry your pads, learn how to fit up on a defender, fit up on an offensive lineman. All the things that go into a football game."