Dragons achieve goals in spring game

Carroll held its spring football game a day early fearing weather concerns. As it turned out, the day after was probably nicer than the new date.

Nevertheless, the Dragons wrapped up their 2016 spring football season with an informal 90-minute workout at Dragon Stadium. No score was kept. The game wasn’t played in quarters per se. This was just a workout of the first team offense and defense competing against the second team offense and defense. The third team units worked against each other.

“Really, our work was done [the week of May 16-20],” Carroll head coach Hal Wasson said. “We had some moments that looked good and some others that didn’t look so good.

“You want to see how guys make plays under the lights. There’s something about turning the lights on at Dragon Stadium and seeing who plays with an edge. The two big things we came out of this is that we had some fun and we were healthy. We were also trying to find some consistency.”

It’s his team

Senior quarterback Mason Holmes has grown a little bit, to 6-1 and 185. Much has changed from the last spring season to this one.

In 2015 when Montana Murphy was dealing with physical setbacks, Holmes ran the offense. But it sometimes felt that everything was on hold. By now, you’re aware of the story that Holmes eventually became the starter.

This year, there is no quarterback competition. Holmes is the starter unless something bizarre happens.

“He has ownership now,” Wasson said. “Last year, he was competing [with Murphy]. But we’re in a different realm. Mason knows he’s the guy and he can be more verbal.”

While his physical growth makes a difference, Carroll really hasn’t changed the way how Holmes will do business. There are no restrictions. Holmes was capable of making all of the throws last year. A little more strength means those throws can reach the target a bit faster.

Holmes threw for 2,884 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2015. He also completed 67 percent of his passes. Even though he rushed for 57 yards in 2015, there is the possibility of Carroll using him a little more in the running game.

“He’s stronger and faster,” Wasson said. “He needs to polish up some things. But he’s very confident. But the thing about it is that he has six new receivers to work with. That’s why the summer is so important. He has to get his timing down with them.”

At the skill position

The Dragons are basically starting over in the backfield and with their wide receiver core. However, senior receiver Jackson Davis (5-8, 160) turned in what Wasson called a very consistent spring. Jackson did not catch a pass in 2015.

Several other receivers were banged up with injuries. They were limited in what they could offer. Wasson said they were typical muscle pulls but considered them not serious. So those working with Holmes becomes even more important.

“Jackson was the most consistent because he understands,” Wasson said. “He loves the game. He’s a savvy route runner. He’s fast.”

The running game may not feature a go-to running back. Barrett Buck (5-8, 170) turned in a solid 18 workouts. He earned the bulk of the carries because Jack Johansson was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“We’re going to be able to use Barrett in a lot of different ways,” Wasson said. “The defensive coaches were after me about wanting to get him to play defense.”

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Dragons achieve goals in spring game."