Photos: the Charlotte 49ers play their first game (sort of) @ UNC Charlotte’s new stadium
Posted on 4 Nov 2012 by Justin Ruckman
The Observer has a great photo essay highlighting the Charlotte 49ers’ recent intrasquad scrimmage, which happened to be the first time the team has played a game at their new stadium.
Forgive the Charlotte 49ers for thinking – and dreaming – about even bigger things Saturday.
The 49ers held an intrasquad football scrimmage that meant much more than just that. Rather than working out on their two practice fields as they had since August, the 49ers scrimmaged on McColl-Richardson Field in their new stadium, which passed state inspection earlier in the week.
And it helped give the young 49ers a bit of an idea of what to expect when next August rolls around. That’s when Charlotte plays a real game for the first time, Aug. 31, 2013, against Campbell.
“This was a fun experience,” freshman defensive end Brandon Banks said. “But it was really just a way to start getting adjusted to what we’ve got to do next season. I know we’ve still got 300-some days until that first game. That’s where there’s really going to be some excitement, when we’re really going to have to have that game mentality. This was a taste of it for me. But not the full-course meal.”
Charlotte’s first real public scrimmage (the 49ers had already scrimmaged several times on the practice field) was naturally rough around the edges. But it also allowed the crowd of about 1,500 to see some playmakers on both sides of the ball. Who knows how that will translate next season, but on Saturday, those standing out included receivers Austin Duke and Jaquil Capel and defensive linemen Larry Ogunjobi and linebacker Mark Pettit.
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