Richmond varsity coach Nick Persell was impressed with how his Spartans handled the rigors of four limited-contact scrimmage sessions in two weeks to cap their offseason 11-man football training. The Spartans started the schedule by scrimmaging July 22 with Pleasant Hill on the road. They then participated in multiteam scrimmaging July 23 at William Jewell College in Liberty, where the other schools included Center and University Academy, both Kansas Citybased schools; West Platte; and Missouri River Valley Conference-East Division opponent Holden. Richmond then participated in scrimmages July 30-31, hosted by Excelsior Springs. In addition to the Spartans and the host school, Oak Grove and Lawson participated the first day. It was Excelsior Springs, Lawson and Richmond the second day. “We had two weeks of practice at Richmond just with our own team,” Persell said minutes after the final scrimmage at Tiger Stadium. “I think they were kind of champing at the bit to see some…