Last week Mario Morales, head coach of the Wilson Bruins football team, made the biggest mistake of his career, and let LBPostSports guys Mike and JJ to be honorary coaches of the Cardinal and Gold teams (respectively) in Wilson’s annual Spring game.  Now we’ll hear from the two mavens of football genius about who won, who was better, and who ended up as a dishonorary coach.

JJ– Dishonorary might be a little much, but this whole experience started last year at the end of the season.  Coach Ziggy and Coach Diego came on SportsNight, the spring game was mentioned, and they followed through.  So during the Lakers/Nuggets Game 5 at the newly opened Beach Club, we got a chance to sit down with the coaches and split the squad for the spring scrimmage. Coach Morales told us that, “At this point it’s more about the mental reps, than the physical reps. We want to make sure the kids have been doing their homework and know their assignments.”  Mike wanted the skill players (RB Brandon Robinson, WR Ezel Ruffin) I went with the leaders (QB Brett Harper, DB A.J. Nu-Vsila) and the coaches made sure the teams ended up even…

JJ– The first half saw a lot of good defense, something the Bruins hope to see this season.  For the Cardinal, Ruffin and Phillip Wilson snatched two interceptions, and for the Gold, linebackers Cheyne Garcia and Preston Allred contained the run. At halftime, it was 7-0 Gold.

MIKE– My team, the Cardinal (or C-Squad as the kids say), was all about defense, as both our touchdowns came off interception returns.  We stalled on offense a little, having had the ball on the one and not being able to punch it in, but that’s okay.  Defense wins championships–or ties Spring games, as was the case at Wilson.  Phillip Wilson’s second interception return for a touchdown on the last play of the game evened the score at 14-14, saving my dignity and sparing me what I would have had to do if I lost our pre-game bet.  Which of course isn’t fit to print on a family website.

JJ– The game ball has to go to the combination of QB Brett Harper and WR Josh Bell.  Bell (basketball player) made a great catch in the back of the endzone for the first score, and Harper (sophomore) placed a perfect ball in the soft zone for the second score.  With the defense as good as it could be (8 returning starters) and a few big plays, the Bruins could really make some noise this year.

MIKE– My game balls go to Phillip Wilson, who had both of our TDs, and to Ezel for making some big catches and creating the first pick for Wilson with a nice tip.