Ronnie Branch blasts his way through a hole as his coaches watch on in the background. Joey McQueen wanted to build his team's confidence before opening the season against Manor.

After Friday's scrimmage at Glen Rose, he feels he has done that.

The Badgers' offense scored touchdowns on three of their four possessions of the segmented scrimmage and then played to a 0-0 tie in the live quarter, thwarting the Tigers' attempts to score a winning touchdown in the final seconds.

The outing left the first-year Lampasas head coach optimistic about the season ahead.

"I think we're better than we were last year," McQueen said. "I was very proud of our kids. I wanted our kids to have a great spring, a great summer and a great scrimmage to get some confidence and then beat Manor.

"If we can do that, then we've got some progress heading in the right direction. We've got a long way to go, but at least we're heading in the right direction."

Lampasas didn't take long to light up the scoreboard.

With possessions starting on the 30-yard line, running back Brode DuBose opened the scrimmage with three consecutive runs for 14 yards and then his backfield partner Gabe Terrell took over the load, busting an option play for 37 yards.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Badgers' running back Brode DuBose bowls over a tackler while carrying another during last Friday's scrimmage at Glen Rose. The senior finished with 58 yards on the ground and a touchdown. A flag backed the Badgers up 10 yards on the following play, but they immediately gained it back as Edward Hall ran for 10 yards.

Quarterback Colton Perkins' bad pitch led to a fumble, but the Badgers recovered, and Perkins connected with Josh Woods for a gain of three yards.

After another flag backed up the squad again, Perkins delivered a 27-yard scoring strike to senior Aaron Reyna on fourth-and-16.

The Badgers lined up at the 30- yard line for their second series with the ball and quickly moved into Tiger territory but could not score again.

Glen Rose stopped the Badgers on a fourth-and-four, then on a fourth-and-nine situation before intercepting a Vann Millican pass on the opening play of the next series.

McQueen's defense left the coach smiling after its initial appearance on the field.

Two plays into the Tigers' opening possession, junior defensive end Spencer Cooper broke through the line for a sack and an eight-yard loss. Glen Rose went three-and-out to start its night.

The Badgers recovered a forced fumble at their own 21-yard line on the next series and followed it up with another three-and-out.

On the next series, it was more of the same as the Badgers forced and scooped up another fumble.

"I saw that [we] were physical," McQueen said. "On defense, they might have caught some passes, but we knocked the beep out of them. That's what I liked."

The second time the Badgers had the ball, they lulled the Tigers to sleep with the run, advancing to midfield before Millican delivered a 44-yard bomb to Astin Murray.

A pair of DuBose runs starting from the seven-yard line resulted in a two-yard touchdown.

Perkins followed the scoring drive with an interception before the squads switched sides of the ball.

The defense lapsed a little its second time on the field, as the unit allowed two touchdowns in the 15- play possession.

Lampasas responded by marching to the Tigers' nine-yard line with eight rushes before Millican again found Murray, this time for a nine-yard touchdown.

The score marked the final points for either team on the evening.

"Offensively, we moved the ball, and we were physical in that," McQueen said. "[Millican and Perkins] both threw the ball well and ran the option well. I don't know how we're going to make that decision [of who is named starting quarterback.]"

Perkins was 3-of-5 for 57 yards, and Millican finished the night 3- of-6 for 62 yards. The Badgers rushed for 276 yards on 47 carries.

The Badgers kept the ball on the ground for all but one play during the live quarter, but they could not find the end zone.

Glen Rose advanced to the Badgers' 24-yard line before the defense forced and recovered another fumble.

Lampasas gave the ball right back, however, going three-andout and punting.

The Tigers were stopped just short of midfield on their possession and returned the favor, punting with less than six minutes left on the clock.

The Badgers rushed the ball 50 yards on the ensuing eight plays but needed 51 yards and turned it over after Hall's one-yard, fourth down burst was just short of moving the chains with under two minutes remaining.

Defensive tackle Carter Burks set the tone for the Badgers' defense when he batted down his second pass of the night on the first play from scrimmage. He earned a new nickname in the process.

"We call him the Big Swat now," McQueen said.

With 17 seconds remaining, the Tigers ended their drive on a fourth-down incompletion.

The Badgers took a knee to run out the clock.

"We moved the ball [in the live quarter], but we've got to get those fourth downs when we need them," McQueen said. "I was proud of them. We did a lot of good things tonight."

The head coach also was proud of his subvarsity squads as the junior varsity scored six touchdowns, including a pair of 40-yard touchdown runs from quarterback Brandon Scott, and the freshmen put together a solid outing.

"Our freshmen made some progress, and our JV is a little further along," McQueen said. "Our freshmen never scored, but they moved the ball."

The varsity Badgers open their regular season at home against Manor Friday at 7:30 p.m., while the freshmen and JV play at Manor Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m.