With several likely starters out of commission, it was difficult for coach Ken Moore to get a true gauge of his team’s ability during Saturday’s jamboree at St. Charles West.

Despite the missing links, the third-year coach liked what he saw from a mix of starters and reserves.

Now the focus is on returning those pivotal players back to full strength by Friday’s season opener at St. Charles. The GAC North contest is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

During last Saturday’s primer, Warrenton split an offensive and defensive series against each of the three teams in attendance.

“Defensively, I thought our line played well and our linebackers were running to the ball,” said Moore. “When we had our first string defensive backs in, we were pretty much OK.”

The Warriors opened against Holt, with senior quarterback Scotty Lathrop breaking a long scoring run.

Several other plays could have potentially resulted in scores, but plays were typically blown dead once a ball carrier hit the open field.

“When we can turn Scott loose, I think we’re going to have some big plays,” asserted Moore.

Lathrop also looked to receiving threats Nick Todd and Devin Roberts, as the Warriors flexed their muscle at the skill positions.

They were particularly reliant upon the passing game with three primary running backs unable to compete for various reasons.

“We executed on offense really well,” said Lathrop. “I just think that on defense we need to fly around a little bit more. I think once we get healthy that we’re going to have a really solid team.”

A relatively inexperienced line was put to the test, sometimes holding its own, while also meeting its match on several instances.

“I thought our offensive line did well,” said Moore. “I think our line on both sides of the ball did pretty well. We’re replacing three guys there, and I think we’re real  happy with what we saw today.”

Warrenton’s second showdown was against a much larger and extremely physical Parkway North team that provided an aggressive challenge for the line. The Warriors struggled to contain on the corners at first, allowing touchdowns on the first three possessions before shoring up their tackling efforts.

“We have a couple of issues with tackling and pursuing,” acknowledged Moore. “I think we might need to work on our tempo on the ball offensively and maybe making a few of our reads.”

The final test of the day came against Northwest Cedar Hill, as several younger players stepped in, especially at the skill positions.

Senior running back Derrik Chapman carried the ball on multiple occasions and Lathrop also hit a combination of receivers, both starters and backups.

He connected with Jason Bunge, Tony Hayeslip and Ricky Morris to close out the scrimmage.

“We saw a nice variety of offenses,” said Lathrop. “Parkway North is a huge team, and we’re going to play teams like that. We compared well against Holt. I thought we played well and really took to them. We weren’t backing down at all.”

Moore was excited about the potential of some of the less experienced players who are breaking in to the varsity level.

“There were some kids who came through for us,” said Moore, “like Devin Roberts or Derrik Chapman. Some of the things he did let us know we have some backup.”