Local teams get one chance at preseason warm-up
Sonoraville hosts GC for scrimmage; Calhoun to visit NW Whitfield
All three local teams get a chance to see how far along they are after a few weeks of practice this week as they compete in their one and only preseason scrimmages.
Calhoun travels to Northwest Whitfield on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and Gordon Central visits Sonoraville on Friday at 7:30 p.m. for a little Gordon County showdown.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb, who is entering his 19th season at the helm, said it’s always good to get on the field in a game-type scenario and see someone else to test where they are a few weeks into the start of practice.
“Everyone is excited to go against somebody else,” said Lamb. “It’s pretty early again like last year because of how early the first game is. We’ve only had four full-padded practices so far. It’s just a scrimmage, but we’re excited to get the opportunity to show what we can do under the lights.”
The Sonoraville-Gordon Central scrimmage pairs a couple of first-year head coaches as they get an early look at what their teams can do.
Gordon Central scrimmaged Trion following two weeks of Spring drills in May, but new Warriors’ head coach Cory Nix said he’s ready to see how far his team has come since then after a full summer conditioning program and early practices.
“The coaches are excited to see someone else,” said Nix. “We want to see how much our team can execute, and we’ll get to evaluate personnel and see who is going to be in certain spots. We want to see how things have improved over the last few months. We had little intrasquad scrimmage this past Friday, and the guys got after it pretty hard so we want to see what it looks like against another team.
“I’m sure it’s a big deal to our kids to play Sonoraville. I know they will be juiced up and ready. It adds a little extra to a scrimmage, and I think it will be a great atmosphere and environment for both teams.”
Pate, who slid over from the offensive coordinator role to head coach in April to replace Jim Kremer, said the kids are ready to get out on the field, and the coaches are ready to see how the younger players react to their first game-type experience.
“The kids are excited to be able to not hit each other for a day at least,” said Pate. “And I think the coaches are excited to see the new faces on the field. We want to see the energy the kids bring like they have been bringing to practice. We know there are going to be some mistakes and busted assignments, but we can go back and correct that. We just want to see their energy and drive out there. That’s what you strive for in practice is to get that full effort, and we expect to see that on Friday.”
Pate added that the close proximity of the schools and the kids’ familiarity with each other does add a little more intrigue to the preseason scrimmage.
“Hopefully the rain will hold off, and we’ll be able to pack the stadium like we did last year over there,” said Pate.