If their scrimmage Thursday against East Coweta is any indication, the Starr’s Mill Panthers still have a considerable amount of work to do before their season opener against Etowah next Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

Starr’s Mill made numerous mistakes on both sides of the ball, showing its inexperience, in a 22-13 loss to East Coweta in a preseason scrimmage in Sharpsburg.

Starr’s Mill’s offense in particular had the most issues.

“Offensively, we absolutely had no direction,” Starr’s Mill coach Mike Earwood said. “We were not capable of doing what we need to do. We had some issues up front that we have to get resolved. We were sloppy offensively.”

The Panthers got off to a rough start defensively, displaying an inability to stop East Coweta’s running game in the first half.

The Indians controlled the line of scrimmage in the first half, scoring on their first two drives.

East Coweta running back Tay Willis ripped off a 72-yard run on the second play from scrimmage, cutting sharply through a hole that opened in the middle of the line and dashing into the secondary, where he made another sharp cut, before racing down the right sideline.

Quarterback Henry Dixon took the ball off left tackle and ran into the end zone on a 6-yard keeper on the next play to open the scoring.

East Coweta’s next drive covered 60 yards in 10 plays and culminated with Cody Davis plowing through the middle and into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown run with 32.5 seconds left in the first quarter.

One bright spot for Starr’s Mill on East Coweta’s second scoring drive was linebacker Stephen Roberts’ sack of East Coweta quarterback Mac McKnight for a 9-yard loss.

Roberts blitzed up the middle of the line, found a crease and tossed McKnight to the turf.

Starr’s Mill’s second drive of the second half showed the Panthers’ offensive potential.

Backup quarterback Adam Holley was effective running the option off right tackle, rushing for 18 yards on two carries, and his deep pass for Tyler Dukes helped draw a pass interference call on East Coweta’s Jonathon Baldwin.

Two plays later, running back Dan Ellis turned in the Panthers’ most impressive play of the night — a 15-yard touchdown run.

Ellis carried the ball off left tackle, found no running room, cut back across the field and ran around the right side, diving into the end zone to complete a dazzling display of athleticism.

“Dan Ellis is a playmaker,” Earwood said. “He’s one of the guys we can count on.”

With both teams' JV squads on the field, Starr’s Mill’s Jake Thelen dropped back into coverage and intercepted a pass, setting up the Panthers’ second touchdown, a 7-yard run by Zach Laskey with 3:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Starr’s Mill’s two-point conversion attempt failed.

East Coweta JV running back Justin Smith completed the scoring with a 60-yard run down the left sideline in the final seconds.

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