Midland secondary getting needed workouts

WAYNE -- The Cabell Midland Knights' secondary did not have much experience heading into this week.

However the Knights were put through the ringer this week, having three 7-on-7 workouts in three nights against Winfield and Wayne twice.

The results were enough to bring a smile to coach Chip McMillian's face.

"This year, us being young on defense and in the secondary, (the practice) has been tremendous for us," McMillian said. "We've played three games and progressively gotten better each night. I'm excited going in."

After facing Winfield on Tuesday night, McMillian's crew hosted Wayne on Wednesday in a workout that was originally scheduled for Monday night, but moved due to storms. Then, once again on Thursday evening, the Knights and Pioneers met up, this time at Pioneer Field to give each other a test.

McMillian said he couldn't have been more pleased to face the Pioneers twice in 7-on-7 drills. Before the MSAC Grid-O-Rama was created, the two teams used to be annual opponents in full contact scrimmages in August.

"Wayne is a heck of a football team and they make you play," McMillian said. "They burned us some, but we got better as the scrimmage went on."

While the secondary was McMillian's focus this week, there was also an eye on the quarterback spot after starting quarterback Tyler Bartley broke his leg during defensive drills last week.

Although Bartley is expected to be ready to go for the open of fall practice, McMillian might rest easier after seeing the performance put on Thursday night by Michael Brumfield.

Brumfield looked impressive finding receivers and putting the ball into tight spots during the drill as both offenses took turns moving the ball at will.

McMillian said that was expected at this time of the season.

"At this point, it is natural for the offense to be ahead of the defense and we've looked pretty crisp," McMillian said. "We are ahead of ourselves defensively from where we were last year.

"The thing I'm most impressed with is that we've made a lot of progress in 10 days. We're still not there yet, but I like what I see."