Local teams are back on the field as games get underway in the coming days.
Practices are now well underway in Polk County for fall sports as the Aug. 1 starting date has come and gone, and local teams in softball, cross country, competition cheerleading and volleyball are getting ready to play starting at the end of this week.
By the end of the month however, all eyes will be on the gridiron as the Cedartown Bulldogs and Rockmart Yellow Jackets take to the field for the first time on Aug. 28.
Until then, Bulldogs and Jackets fans will have to make do with scrimmage games being held at both high schools on Aug. 14.
The Bulldogs will face off against New Manchester during their 7:30 p.m. home contest against the Jaguars, though it won’t count against their regular season record since it will be just a practice.
Bulldogs head coach Scott Hendrix said his team is spending the next week and a half getting ready for the game.
“The kids are working hard and trying to get everything installed before the beginning of the season,” he said. “It’s going to be tough, but we’re going to get there.”
Cedartown has a bit of rebuilding to do this year following the end of a season that saw the team go 3-8 overall and get into the first round of the Class AAA playoffs after a miniplayoff in the region against Rockmart and Pepperell.
They lost in the playoffs to Adairsville.
This year, Hendrix is looking toward sophomore quarterback Treyvon Wofford to help bring the Bulldogs back onto the winning side of their season record, along with a cast of players who have been with the team for years.
“You never really know how things are going to work out until the first kickoff and throw the kids in and
see how they do,” Hendrix said.
Rockmart, on the other hand, is working with a lot of new assistant coaches on the sidelines for 2015.
Head coach Bin Turner said that a new offensive coordinator along with the loss of some of his staff to Washington-Wilkes, and some moving around of coaches to middle school allowed for new hires during the offseason.
“The kids are working great with our new staff so far, and I like the direction we’re going,” he said.
The head ball coach will also be taking a more active role by acting as defensive coordinator this year as well.
“Last year when I wasn’t acting as a coordinator, I felt a little like a fish out of water,” Turner said. “I like to get my hands dirty and work with the kids more directly than I have.”
Turner’s Jackets, who in 2014 also made it to the playoffs after the round-robin miniplayoff, finished up 3-8 overall for the year as well and lost in the first round to a dominant Calhoun team.
He said with seniors and some juniors stepping up as leaders – and not just individuals, but as a whole class – he feels better about the chances of the Jackets this coming season.
They’ll have a chance to show off improvements made on and off the field since November 2014 in their scrimmage also scheduled for Aug. 14.
The Jackets, who will be hosting the Armuchee Indians, will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at the Rock.
Check back in next week’s Standard Journal for more on the two