Cedartown takes part in passing camp

With football season only two months away, coaches will take advantage of every chance they can to prepare their players for the work that lies ahead.

Cedartown was one of those teams this past week who decided that the extra practice time was worth making a trip to Rome to be one of several teams involved in Darlington’s annual 7-on-7 passing camp, a two-day affair where teams work out offensive schemes in a series of non-contact mini-games.

It is a service for both the visiting schools and the Tigers themselves, with each of them getting much-needed rep- etition and field time.

“Any time you can compete against another team, it can get you ready for the season,” Darlington head football coach Tommy Atha said. “The things you pick up while playing someone new every hour are going to carry over to the season.”

bylineOver Thursday and Friday last week, Class A Darlington took on Cedartown, Milton, Chapel Hill and Cambridge, all teams in Class 4A or higher. The camp featured teams from around the state, including area teams like Coosa, Trion and Model.

After spring practice, the Tigers are still working on a few new parts of their offense, including at quarterback. The battle to replace Cameron Evans is still ongoing, with Griffin Brewster and Brady Drummond playing well in the spring scrimmage against Model.

For Atha, the 7-on-7 camp represents two things offensively. First, it helps receivers understand the offense’s spacing better and figure out where they should be in route schemes. Secondly, it just helps the players learn how to compete.

“Nobody is going to be blitzing and nobody is going to be playing run defense in these situations,” Atha said. “So with the linebackers playing back, you are going to have to compete to get open and work on your route assignment.”

The two-day event also gave Darlington and every other team a chance to go against someone other than their own teammates. Like their spring game against Model, Atha’s players had an opportunity to go at full speed against real competition.

And with the season just around the corner, that can be the best thing any coach can ask for.

“The speed we saw today is something you won’t see in practice and even during the season,” Atha said. “Coming out and measuring ourselves against the bigger schools with so many athletes, it’s just invaluable.”