QUINCY — Varsity and junior varsity squads from Ephrata, Moses Lake, Quincy and Royal gathered at the Quincy High School football field Friday, competing in a jamboree with Week 1 of the regular season just a week away.

“You can see it, and you can feel it. Guys are extending plays a little bit just because they’re seeing a different colored jersey,” Moses Lake head coach Brett Jay said. “It’s just nice to get the local teams together. Everyone’s just trying to get better, and there’s good football teams.”

Each team was given two sessions of 10 plays on both sides of the ball, with scrimmages being played on both ends of the field. Teams started from the 40-yard line and attempted to reach the end zone, which would reset the line of scrimmage back to the 40-yard line.

“It’s always good to get out and get to hit someone else for a change,” Ephrata head coach Patrick Mitchell said.

Playing different classifications than a team might typically see during the regular season gives players and coaches a look at how different teams prepare.

“It helps us a lot, especially when we play teams like Moses Lake that can throw the ball as well as they do,” Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. “We need to see that early. Playing the neighborhood teams, it’s lots of fun.”

During both varsity and junior varsity sessions, coaches cycled players into the game to get a look at how athletes matched up in a game setting.

“We’re an injury away from playing, everybody is, so we’ve got to have people that know what’s going on,” Quincy Head Coach Russ Elliott said. “I thought our second unit got lined up well and knew where to go. We just tried to get some guys playing, they’ve been working hard.”

It also gives coaches a look at position battles, Mitchell said.

“I like to use the jamboree to see if guys are close, I want to be able to take a look at them in this type of a setting,” Mitchell said. “Really evaluate where kids are at. See if they need a little bit more if they’re almost there, or if this guy’s ready as a player.”

Quincy took on Royal to begin the jamboree, later facing off against Ephrata.

“I liked the way we didn’t give up,” Elliott said. “We kept battling, so I was happy about that.”

Ephrata got a look at its Week 1 opponent, Moses Lake, before playing Quincy to close out the jamboree.

“I liked the effort that we had,” Mitchell said. “There were some mistakes, but I told the kids, ‘Mistakes are to be made in a jamboree, but effort is something you can control.’ I thought we had great effort, we ran the ball well. I’m excited for the season to start.”

Royal battled against Quincy to begin the jamboree before finishing against Moses Lake.

“I’m really looking forward to see if our d-line can hold up, and I thought they did a good job tonight,” Allred said. “Defensively, flying around to the football. I want to see these guys getting to the football with intensity and effort; I thought they did a good job with that.”

Moses Lake opened with Ephrata before taking on the Knights.

“I think Coach Rathbun said it best, he said, ‘Guys were excited to play, but they didn’t take it to that next phase,’” Jay said. “We came out here, I thought our guys were focused on doing our jobs. We’ve been talking a lot about ‘Do your job,’ and if all 11 guys do their job collectively we’re going to have a great night.”

The 2023 football season begins next week across the state. Check out Wednesday’s edition of the Columbia Basin Herald for the 2023 Gridiron Guide, featuring season previews for all 11 Basin football squads.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.