| Runion's Debut at Quarterback |
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| Written by JOEL RENNER, Chief Staff Reporter |
| Monday, 04 May 2009 00:00 |
LIMA -- A year removed from a National and United States Football Alliance Championship, the Lima Warriors looked strong during their opening scrimmage on Saturday. Veteran Kaene Runion threw multiple touchdown passes, leading new Lima coach B.J. Queen and the Warriors in a convincing performance over the Miami Valley Warriors in Saturday afternoon's action at Lima Stadium. The score was not officially kept, but Lima moved the ball at will on offense and the outcome would have been lopsided.The scrimmage started out with the use of a 10-play format with four offensive posessions for both squads starting at the 35-yard line. Lima held Miami Valley to one touchdown, while they scored two TD's of their own. Miami Valley's lone spark came from a receiver sprint out, which ended in a diving touchdown over the front pylon in the right side of the endzone. The format then changed to goal-line drills where the three-yard line served as the line of scrimmage for five plays each. Lima scored two touchdowns and held Miami Valley scoreless in this format. A 30-minute running clock with down and distance rules was then implemented and Lima scored a pair of TD's, while Miami Valley found the end zone once. "The best score of the day was zero people were hurt," Lima quarterback Kaene Runion said. The community was interested in the hometown team, as a solid contingent of Lima fans turned Lima Stadium into a makeshift version of a regular season game. The season debuts of Runion at quarterback and several rookie players produced exactly what the Warriors had hoped for -- even if it was a meaningless preseason game. Queen, who replaced former head coach and now Warriors General Manager John Parkins, wanted to use the preseason opener to get in sync with his coaches and players. He did better than that. His team basically scored at will from every play called. And Runion, the former Lima tight end and quarterback, completed a good majority of passes and drove the team down the field. "They have got a great group of guys on that team and I'm sure they're going to have a great record," Runion said. Lima played without several starters for various reasons, including wide receiver Joe Butcher and offensive lineman standout Kris Stafford who participated in a tryout over the weekend with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Stafford did not want to risk an injury after tearing his MCL in a scrimmage last year. Derrick Santos will share time with Runion at quarterback and showed his speed in several plays, including juking runs of nine and 25 yards and gives Lima another offensive weapon. Miami Valley showed up with a full 56-man roster out of 80 players fighting for a spot on the team. "It was a very good scrimmage," Miami Valley head coach Tony Martin said. "Lima should once-again be one of the top teams in the region." Lima hits the turf at Lima Stadium again Saturday for a scrimmage with the Mt.Carmel Fire from Cincinnati. The scrimmage begins at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. |
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