Three strings of Bulldog players saw lots of action on both sides of the ball Friday evening as King’s Fork held its first scrimmage of the football season, hosting Matoaca for a controlled scrimmage.

Most of the evening was spent with teams trading 10-play possessions. For the last few drives of the scrimmage, downs and switches of possession were included.

Overall though, “this was a glorified practice for us,” said KF head coach Joe Jones.

“There was a reason we kept the scoreboard turned off,” Jones said.

The Bulldog defense faced an option running offense from Chesterfield’s Warriors, a Group AA school.

When the Bulldogs had the ball, they showed a majority of running plays. For both squads, the defenses seemed ahead of the offenses at this point in the preseason, about two weeks into practice with three weeks left before.

Matoaca’s first 10 plays included King’s Fork forcing and recovering a fumble and the Bulldogs allowing no serious gains throughout the series.

The Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground, largely with option and wing-T style plays, on the first chance for their first string.

Wingback Chuck Clark took a pitch around the right side and raced 36 yards to inside the Matoaca 20. Fullback T.J. Hinson rushed four times on KF’s first drive and finished it with a 1-yard touchdown dive.

Matt Hommell started at quarterback and went 1-for-2 through the air in the first series.

“I’m pleased, the first group did a good job of getting the ball down the field. It was all about learning as we went on tonight,” Jones said.

“In the second half, the offense had two nice drives and kept moving the ball well, but then we have to finish,” Jones said.

The Bulldogs moved the ball on the ground on the last couple drives, but Matoaca held on downs once KF reached the red zone.

The Bulldogs have one more tune-up, at Peninsula District opponent Heritage, next Friday evening.