BRANFORD, Fla. — Hamilton County football coach Seth Stebbins left the field with a big smile after Tuesday’s 7-on-7 workout with Branford and Bell. And for good reason.

HCHS quarterback Alex Scarborough found his rhythm, receiver Melvin Brown raced past everyone trying to cover him, and newcomer Lonzo Lee made his presence felt on defense.

It was a good performance on the field, and also a chance for Stebbins to catch up with friends and colleagues in a relaxed environment.   

“It’s fun coming out and competing with folks in a little different atmosphere than we’ll be in Friday nights,” Stebbins said. “You get to visit with other coaches. 

“I coached Tim Clark (Branford’s head coach). It’s fun to see where he’s at. I got to see a couple of my old players; the Lambert brothers.”

Brown caught seven passes — most of them from Scarborough, who split time with two other quarterbacks — and Lee came up with three interceptions to go along with a touchdown reception.  

Clark also liked what he saw on Tuesday, though his team is in a little different position than the Trojans.  

Clark said Jevin Johnson, who was expected to be Branford’s starting QB in the fall, recently transferred to Suwannee for academic reasons. 

So with less than a month before the start of the regular season, the Buccaneers are quickly preparing Cameron Noling to take over the job.   

Clark was impressed with Noling’s performance on Tuesday.   

“I thought it was one of our better ones” Clark said of the workout. “Especially with Cameron Noling stepping in and taking all the snaps at QB.

“He looked calm. For not being here at all during the spring because of baseball, that was good for him to get all those reps and catch up a bit.”

Noling, who played wide receiver last season, completed eight of 11 passes on the Bucs’ first possession. 

Facing the Bell defense, Junior Cress hauled in a 25-yard pass on the first play of the workout. He finished with three catches. CJ Pepper caught three passes on the possession, including a 25-yard reception.  

All the teams did not advance forward during the workout, electing to run all plays from the 40-yard line.

Noling finished the day 19 of 31.  

Clark also said his defense played well, especially Tyler and Trey Sapp at linebacker and Noling and Shawn Topham at safety.