PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Senior free safety Seth Fry elevates to grab one of two interceptions the Badgers tallied against Glen Rose. Just before the live quarter of Friday's scrimmage against Glen Rose, Lampasas head football coach Ryan Bailey talked to his team about getting their minds right, focusing and keeping their composure.

It worked.

After getting torched through the air for 34-yard and 41-yard touchdown passes during a portion of the scrimmage when the teams alternated possessions, the Badger defense bounced back, rejecting three Tiger scoring drives by forcing a fumble and grabbing two interceptions in the live quarter.

Considering Bailey didn't prepare his squad for Glen Rose, opting instead to spend several days last week scouting the first regularseason opponent Manor, the coach was pleased with his defense's execution against the Tigers, a Class 3A region finalist in 2007 with a 10-4 record.

"That team went four rounds deep last year, and it was because of their offense. And our defense stepped up and stopped them," Bailey said. "They want to get back that tradition of the old days when the Badgers were tough, physical and mean, and that's what we're going to do.

PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Senior running back Brode DuBose breaks a tackle, scoring the Badgers' only touchdown during Friday's scrimmage. "I think if some old Badgers came back and watched, they'd be proud of the way we're hitting and going after people."

The preseason rankings from Dave Campbell's popular Texas Football magazine list Glen Rose at No. 15 in the state for 2008 -- something Bailey purposely ne- glected to mention to his team until after the scrimmage.

The Badger offense, sporting a new run-based philosophy, rushed the ball 18 times for 103 yards before the live quarter, with Brode DuBose scoring the team's only touchdown of the evening on a twoyard gain.

Bailey said down and distance were never factors in the offensive play-calling of the scrimmage. Rather, plays came from a script, run just so they could be captured on film and used as a teaching tool in the days ahead while the Badgers prepare to travel to Manor this Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

From his studies of the Mustangs, Bailey expects an offense that spreads the ball. Defensively, Manor prefers to run three- and four-man fronts, leaving open gaps the Badgers need to attack in order to be successful.

While the coaching staff focused on the Mustangs, the Lampasas players were perhaps overly excited to be lining up across from someone in a different colored jersey for the first time since early last November.

At one point, some physical play escalated into a midfield skirmish between the two teams, a problem Bailey insisted would not repeat itself.

"Their guys tried to take it to us some, and our kids weren't going to back down from it," Bailey said. "That's good, but we have to be smart about how we do it.

"If you get a guy fighting back at you, hitting you late and after the play, that means you're ripping him and he's mad. You're already winning; smile and walk away."

It wasn't just the players who couldn't wait to face off against an opponent instead of a teammate.

"It gets your juices flowing again," Bailey said of the scrimmage contact. "You try to get into it, and it's day after day of the same thing over and over and then, finally, you get to go out and see what you've been working on and see if it pays off. For the most part, it did."