Wingate Bears view upcoming season with confidence

After finishing third in district last year, the Wingate Bears football team showed promise on Saturday during a four-team scrimmage.

Wingate, Zuni, Laguna-Acoma and the Gallup JV participated in the scrimmage at Wingate.

Bears head coach Donald Pine said, "A scrimmage is a great time to evaluate how the kids perform in game situations. We felt that the kids did fairly well. We know that there are things that we need to get better on but overall the athletes are further ahead than we expected."

Wingate kicks off the season on the road against Window Rock Friday night at 7 p.m.

Last year, Wingate finished third in District 1-3A behind champion Bloomfield and runner-up Miyamura. Wingate finished 4-2 in district and 5-5.

Both schools have moved up to Class 4A. Pine said district newcomer Shiprock and Zuni will be strong contenders for the district title.

"We played both teams last year and both teams have returning players that were very good," Pine said. "I think Shiprock is going to do well in this district. They are probably the largest school in this district."

He said the Bears played the Chieftains tough for one half but fell apart in the second half and lost, 21-13.

Key players for the Bears are senior lineman RetTrei Hicks, senior lineman Stenson Lee, linebacker and quarterback Randall Pine, linebacker Ryan Watson, defensive end Bubba Wallace, defensive tackle Falcon Lee, and linebacker and fullback Corey Two Crow.

"I feel that we can compete with anybody on any given day," Pine said. "Our kids are working hard and we believe that we have a chance to do well this year. We have a tough non-district schedule and believe that if we play well should be right in the thick of things during district time."

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