Area schools start football

Schools across Union County formally began preparing for the 2017 season on the gridiron with their first day of practice.

At Junction City, firstyear coach Steven Jones said the Dragons worked on both sides of the ball in the first practice.

“Everything went smooth,” Jones said. “I liked the tempo of how everything went. Offensively, everything is installed, so we’re just going back and polishing things up. The guys moved really well today. We had junior high and senior high together, and it was great to see them encouraging each other and working together really well. The younger guys can learn from them and know what to expect.”

Jones added that there were 36 players out for the senior high, and that while the Dragons will continue to work on both sides of the ball, today’s practice will be more focused on defense.

Like Jones, Parkers Chapel’s Jacob Midyett is in his first year at his alma mater, and he conducted his first practice on Monday.

“Not bad,” Midyett said. “We’re changing some things up. We had a few hiccups, but overall, I was pleased with how everything went.”

Midyett added that the Trojans got work done on both offense and defense.

“We’re still getting a feel for tempo and being in the right spot at the right time,” Midyett said.

Midyett added that there were 25 players in attendance for the first day of practice.

Strong conducted their first practice in the afternoon, and Bulldogs coach Greg Anthony was very pleased with what he saw.

“It went really well,” Anthony said. “All of the coaches were pleased with the attitude of the kids. It was a whole lot better than it was last year. I thought the effort was really good, and the thing that stood out to me was that our seniors led the team in practice. Everybody was encouraging each other.”

Anthony said 26 players were in attendance, and that the Bulldogs installed their punt and kickoff teams while doing conditioning work. Strong also worked on offense and defense both in groups and in team settings.

Calls from the News-Times to Smackover coach Michael Baysinger seeking comment on the Buckaroos’ first day of practice were not returned.