As the storm of opening week is quickly rolling in, Miller and Neal are in the second week of practices, preparing for opening night.
On Monday afternoon, Miller kicked off the practice week by running offensive, defensive, and special-team drills.
Obstacles of all kinds were found around the practice field as different groups of players were hard at work perfecting blocking, learning plays and on-side kicks and kickoff returns were practiced.
Neal was hard at work running similar drills.
“I was pleased with the kid’s performance and attitude coming into practice,” Neal head coach, Williams said.
“In the coming weeks, we will be working on cleaning up the little things and getting better. We have to block tackles and build some depth. The guys are working hard and are getting better. We have to get into the routine of things,” Williams said.
Neal has been improving all around and looks to be a force to be reckoned with this year.
The team is full of fresh players and new faces and many of these will be the faces of Neal’s program for the next years to come.
Miller has an awesome lineup of players this season also.
“We have leaders all around the field, which will help us tremendously. We have guys like Ricky Samuel, Dan Samuel, John Jetter, Matt Smith, and several other key leaders that will help the team. We are looking for these guys to really step up,” Miller head coach, Etheredge said.
Miller has been hard at work on perfecting their offense and defense and attempting to leave out all the small mistakes.
“Our goal for the coming up weeks, is to install some things and polish up. The guys are doing a great job, and we will continue to work on cutting out mistakes, polishing up, and make sure we are communicating like we should,” Etheredge said.
“We have a great group of guys here and they have been doing a great job. This is a hard-working group of players. They are staying positive and we are all excited,” Etheredge said.
After viewing both teams at work over the past two weeks, I can assure you that it’s going to be an exciting season.
Having had the opportunity to talk to a few players from both teams, all of these guys are great leaders and role models.
Both teams have a promising seasons ahead of them with two great and accomplished coaches, heading up the programs.
With kickoffs closing in, I am excited to see how both teams develop over the course of the next few weeks.
Joshua Frye is a reporter for The Brewton Standard. He can be reached at joshua.frye@thebrewtonstandard.com