Cougars host area teams in summer play

The Cougars and Junior Cougars hosted area teams for a series of scrimmage-style games this week in Rector.

On Monday, the senior boys fell by six points to Hoxie in one half of play.

"We really didn't play well," coach Matt Mills said. "That's the only game we've played this summer where it just really didn't come together for us."

Rector was short three key players for the Hoxie matchup, as Tyler Kirklin, Dan Blackshare and Dillon Shelton were unable to attend.

Tuesday, Rector picked up two one-sided wins, topping Senath by 35 and Maynard by 25.

Today (Wednesday) Rector is set to face Gosnell at 5 p.m. The pirates have not lost to anyone in the camp.

"That should be a really good game," Mills said. "Gosnell has looked good so far. If we play like we did Tuesday, we can beat them. That's the best we've looked this summer."

The Junior Cougars were downed by Hoxie's tenth graders on Monday, but bounced back to top BIC by two and CRA by 12 on Tuesday.

The summer games help the teams become more familiar with playing together, as former freshman adjust to the high school game and eighth graders do the same for the junior high level.

"The biggest things about these camps are keeping a feel for the game and getting the new guys acclimated," Mills said. "We really emphasize on improving in the summer."

Rector is set to take part in camps at Pocahontas next week before visiting Williams Baptist College and Bay in July.

"We've got a pretty good schedule lined up for the summer," Mills said. "We had some success last year, reaching the regional tournament. We're going to keep working hard to build on that.