By Kev Moye & Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
The Junction City Dragons had what coach David Carpenter tabbed as a productive first week of practice.
However, the genesis of Friday’s workout was the antithesis of what’s expected from the defending Class 2A state champs. But, the players eventually regained their form and finished the week by successfully completing their assigned duties.
“Practice (Friday) started off pretty bad. But, it got better as the day progressed. I don’t know what was wrong,” the coach said. “They weren’t very excited about the first half of practice (Friday) morning. Now, the second half went well. But, compared to the rest of the week, the first half of practice isn’t what we wanted. But, the week as a whole was real good.”
What did Carpenter like most about the opening week of practice?
“The hustle. The players were working extremely hard, going through the drills very fast. They were just working hard,” he answered. “But, (Friday) morning we were just going through the motions. We addressed the situation and then everything went well.”
During the opening days of practice, Junction City had two sessions a day. One practice was offense-oriented. Meanwhile, during the other, defense was the primary focus. However, the players will begin to practice exclusively in the evening next week.
“We’re going to try and stay on the same schedule as much as possible. Teacher’s meetings begin and we as coaches have an obligation to be there. So we’re going to try and do the same things we’ve been doing.”
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The Smackover Buckaroos face the burden of beginning their season August 31st. The Bucks will then play a second game less than a week later on the following Saturday evening. Hence, every moment of practice-time is precious.
So it’s easy to understand why Smackover faces a pivotal week two of fall practice, especially after the opening days of camp were hindered due to several players fighting an illness.
“It was a good week but we’re battling a stomach virus. We had about 25 kids not at practice (Friday),” said Smackover coach Brian Strickland. “I received numerous text, and parents who called me with their child being sick. It actually started on Monday. We’d get a couple of players back and then we would lose just as many. We’ve been averaging about 10 players a day out of practice. The majority of it is because of a stomach virus.
“Friday we had 23 players at practice. The players are working hard. We’re getting our work in with the players who are at practice. We’re just hoping we can get this virus behind us so we can get a full team here and see where we’re at.”
The fast-approaching season opener against Warren has forced Strickland to try and remain on schedule, despite not having a full complement of players.
“It’s right around the corner,” Strickland said of Smackover’s first game. “A day loss is a day you can’t recover. Hopefully this weekend the players can get healthy and we can get everybody back Monday and we can go back to work as a full group. Everybody needs the reps. And once we get the full team there, we can see where we’re really at.”
As of now, the Buckaroos’ early morning practice routine will be altered next week. Nonetheless, Strickland is more concerned with his players making a complete recovery.
“Next week is going to be a roller-coaster. It’s the week before school starts. It’s the week of teacher’s in-service. Monday will be a normal day. But we’re working around the heat, too. The heat Monday and Tuesday is supposed to be outrageous,” the coach stated. “Tuesday, we’ll practice late afternoon to the early evening. Wednesday, we’ll practice in the afternoon. We’re going to let the players go around 5 p.m. to get to church. Thursday, we’ll have a second two-a-day from 3 to 8 p.m. Then Friday we’ll have a normal morning practice. It’s going to be a roller-coaster week. If we can get the bodies there and get them working, we’d feel a whole lot better.”
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Strong wrapped up their first week of practice with the last of their evening practices on Friday evening.
“I think it’s been what we hoped it would be,” said Strong coach Craig O’Neal. “I think our numbers are back to where we thought they would be. We’re closer to 25, and I think we even had 26 one night. We had 20 the first night, but the rest of the week, we’ve had closer to 25 each night, so we’re excited about that. We just have to make sure that everybody is on the same page.”
O’Neal added that he thought his team was ahead of where they were at this point last year.
“We’ve done a lot on offense this week,” O’Neal said. “Coach (Jason) Porter is our offensive coordinator, and he had a plan for this week on how he wanted to install things. You can tell we’re ahead of where we were last year.”
If there was one area where the Bulldogs shined this week, it was on the offensive line.
“They’re focused and really willing to learn,” O’Neal said. “They just seem like they’ve got the mentality with what we’re looking for with our offensive linemen.”
One factor the Bulldogs have had to contend with this week is the heat, and O’Neal thought his team has handled it well.
“There’s really no getting away from the heat for us,” O’Neal said. “We don’t have any air-conditioned facilities. Whether that’s our fieldhouse, our gym or anything like that. We’ve got a whole lot of water and Gatorade. It’s just a matter of monitoring the kids, but these kids are used to being in the heat. They know it’s just hot at this time of year. You have to be smart and stay hydrated.”
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Parkers Chapel concluded the first week of practice with a workout early Friday morning, and coach James Housdan thought his squad had a good opening week.
“I would say it’s a good week because we had no injuries,” Housdan said. “We’ve had a couple of those the last couple of years, so no injuries or heat illnesses is a positive. It was a long, hot week, but it was good. We did a lot of individual fundamentals with the guys, so you’re trying to get in some base stuff and introduce some of the young guys to some of the things that you do.”
After having practices in the morning this week, the Trojans will have afternoon practices on Monday and Tuesday, and Housdan said his team will be ready for the potential record-setting temperatures that could be coming.
“With us going early this week, it hasn’t been bad,” Housdan said. “It has been humid and hot, but we’ve done a real good job of making sure we’ve got breaks built in, and if we feel like we need to give the guys another little break, we’ll do that.”
Housdan added that he likes where his team stands heading into the second week of practice.
“I feel good with where we’re at and where we can go next week,” Housdan said. “I don’t know if you ever feel like you’re where you need to be. You always wish you probably should’ve gotten this in or done that, but I feel good just because of the guys that I know we’re going to have and got back.”
Housdan said the Trojans will focus on offense early next week, and he was pleased with what he saw of Brennan Cates and Cal Herrin.
“It was good to have Brennan Cates and Cal Herrin out there for a full week and see what they can do,” Housdan said. “Cal suffered an injury on day one last year, and we didn’t get to see anything from him, so we’re excited about what Cal is going to be able to bring to us.
“Brennan practiced with the team and was a great scout player for us. We feel like he’s going to be a great addition, and we’re excited that he’s out there. Two newcomers that are going to bring a lot to the team this year, and we’re excited to have them.”