Calvary shows ‘glimpses of special’ in opening scrimmage

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - On paper, this year’s Cavaliers have one of the more prolific high school offenses you will see.

On Friday night, the plethora of Division 1 talent backed up what the paper says, scrimmage or not.

The Calvary starters played a dominant first half against Dodge County and led 34-0 heading into the locker room.

Jake Merklinger got the fireworks started on the very first play of scrimmage, finding fellow senior Caden Arnold for a 75-yard touchdown on a perfectly thrown deep ball. Merklinger and Arnold connected for another long score on their very next possession, with Arnold doing the majority of the work with his legs.

Next Calvary possession, it was Thomas Blackshear’s turn to show his brilliance, taking a short slant route 45 yards and down inside the Dodge County five-yard line. Blackshear’s scamper led to Merklinger finding South Carolina commit Mike Smith on a ball in which Smith outleaped two defenders to haul in the score.

The final firework of the first half came from Edward “Doopah” Coleman, who evaded multiple defenders on a 48-yard touchdown catch and run.

“This group can be special because of how unselfish everyone is. Nobody cares about their stats. Every guy knows it is going to be their turn at some point,” Jake Merklinger told WTOC Sports earlier this week.

The unselfishness and potency of the Calvary offense was on full display on Friday night.

Calvary opens up the regular season at home against Islands on Friday, August 18th at 7:30pm.

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