At this point, the Apalachee High School football team will benefit from playing against someone else.
That is the thought of head coach Shane Davis, whose Wildcats will travel to Archer High School Friday for a preseason scrimmage at 7:30 p.m.
“I guess we are getting close to the point where we need to play somebody,” Davis said Sunday night. “We’ve done about as much as we can going against each other.”
Friday’s scrimmage will be similar to that of most preseason contests. There will be no live special teams play. Davis said with so many new players on the 2010 team as well as some new members of the coaching staff, he would use this week as a trial run for an actual game.
“We’ve swapped film and we are game planning to a degree,” Davis said. “It will give us an opportunity to see what next weekend will be like. We are going to try and similate Archer’s plays this week in practice and prepare for them like a regular season opponent.”
With the Wildcats entering the 2010 season as the defending region champion, Davis knows there will be the proverbial bullseye aimed at his squad.
However, the coach, like he always has done, is taking preseason preparation one practice at a time. This Friday’s preseason scrimmage is just another step in a long-range goal of making the postseason once again.
“The heat was a little better last week,” Davis said. “It was still warm. We are still giving them a lot of breaks. We were able to get a lot more done though.”
The AHS coach, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Wildcats, said the players continue to be focused and ready to work.
“They are doing all they can to prepare for the new season,” Davis said. “They are doing what the coaches say and are prepared to work each day.”
The first regular season game is set for Friday, Aug. 27, against Habersham Central. It will be the first of 10 region contests for the defending 8-AAAA champ.
