Unique to almost any other sport, the game of high school football requires players to practice outdoors during periods of extreme heat, wearing layers of protective equipment, and engaging in contact between players. It requires dedication, a desire to play, and a degree of mental toughness that could easily be argued to be second to no other sport. That is not said in disrespect to other sports; each requires dedication and discipline to be successful.
And on a very warm July morning last week in Pottsville, six teams donned the pads to continue their preseason conditioning and practices to will eventually lead up to the start of the season just after the start of the new school year. In addition to the host school Pottsville, Hackett, Lincoln, Mena, Ozark, and Paris all played session rotations against each other on the blistering hot artificial turf at Pottsville High School. The unofficial temperature was approximately 95 degrees, and the turf temperature was approximately 10 degrees warmer.
High school football coaches, in this writer’s opinion, have become increasingly aware of the risks of heat-related illness and are doing a very good job of keeping players hydrated, taking frequent breaks, and reducing the camp sessions from approximately two hours down to approximately 90 minutes. So, in addition to the great plays that were made by players from all of the schools, perhaps most impressive were no visible signs of heat exhaustion or lack of conditioning and acclimatization to the heat. The players and coaches are to be congratulated on having their teams in good condition at this point of the summer.
The Hackett Hornets, who play in the 3A-1 conference with Charleston and Booneville, were very impressive all morning at the camp. The Hornets have talented players at the skill positions, and they showed off that talent, particularly at the wide receiver position. Hackett appears to be ready to make a playoff run this season, possibly as a number three seed behind top contenders Charleston and Booneville.
The young Paris Eagles continue to work hard to develop chemistry with several new players at the critical skill positions on offense, and in the defensive secondary. The Eagles graduated several starters on both sides of the ball last year, and the 2022 season will be a “work in progress” as the coaching staff continues to teach and install a system to the new starters. Paris will start the season at Waldron and will also face another tough non-conference game a few weeks later at West Fork. Patience will be the operative word for Eagles fans this year. It will be critical for the team to remain relatively injury-free in several key positions.
RNN Sports will bring our readers a preseason special in August that will analyze the Eagles’ 2022 schedule and personnel. Watch for this announcement soon in the Logan County weekly newspaper.
And thanks to the good people of Logan County and the surrounding communities for the great response to the newest weekly print newspaper. We appreciate your subscriptions, and we hope you will pass the word along to others who would like to read LOCALLY focused news and sports each week!
