Prep football: High School football season begins
By Michael Bower
High school football players all across the state strapped on their helmets and put their pads on for the first time Monday, signaling the beginning of another prep football season.
Poway and Del Norte held their first official fall practices Monday, while Rancho Bernardo will open its march toward another successful season with its first official practice Thursday.
This is the time of year most programs hold two-a-day practices, going from early in the morning; breaking for lunch and going right back at it at night. Poway starts at 7:30 a.m. and goes until 11 a.m. The team then comes back at 4:30 p.m. and practices until 8 p.m. Players go through rigorous conditioning to get ready for the season.
“We don’t look forward to it,” Poway senior running back/safety Ryan Moreno said with a chuckle. “But it gets us better and prepared. Summer workouts are tough and we all go hard out here so we can get better.”
For most teams, this is not the first time they have been together in the summer. Many teams compete in 7-on-7 passing leagues, which are played in shorts and without pads. Poway High competed in a passing league in Oceanside and played very well, losing to Helix in the semifinals. But the players know football is a lot different with pads on.
“Everyone can run around with shorts and a T-shirt on, but once you put on the pads you find out who the real football players are,” Poway senior fullback/linebacker Jimmy Moreno said.
Del Norte held its first practice under new coach Leigh Cole. The Nighthawks, entering their second year of existence at the varsity level, have plenty to look forward to with its first senior class taking the field this season.
“I am definitely excited about the year,” Cole said. “This isn’t my first time being a head coach so it is not my first practice. But I am glad to be at Del Norte. The kids are great and the support in the community has been great. Having our first practice today was a lot of work. The kids hustled and worked hard.”
The Nighthawks also participated in a few passing leagues over the summer. Cole said the squad did as expected, “making a lot of mistakes and learning from them.” Cole says he is not worried about the young team establishing any traditions in its first year with a senior class.
“We are not worried about establishing traditions,” he said. “We are worried about establishing a good program and winning. You get a good tradition by winning so we will worry about establishing a tradition down the road.”
Fall practices will run through August. The start of the season for Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Del Norte is Sept. 2.
Be sure to check out our in-depth local football preview in our Sept. 1 issue, and always check our website and new high school sports blog,
for daily news.