Kicking off: Dogs turn out early in opening day

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on August 2, 2014 11:12 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

The first day of the high school season isn't always as glamorous as it might sound.

Paperwork has to be completed.

Young players are assisted getting up to speed.

And then there is practice in the rain.

Princeton kicked off its season at 6:55 on Friday morning. Nearly 30 freshmen came out, giving the Bulldogs more players than they've ever had in their JV system. Third-year PHS head coach Derrick Minor said 14 sophomores will be added to the mix.

"We want to build that JV program up to where we want it to be so that when they're juniors and seniors, they can come up and make a difference," he said.

The Bulldogs return seven players who received either first-team or honorable mention accolades from the News-Argus in 2013. Those experienced players have the chance to become older brothers to the underclassmen and get them up to speed on the high school game.

"Day one we were all on the same page. The varsity guys have done a great job helping out the younger guys," Minor said. "It's made our jobs as coaching easier because we don't have to focus on so many players."

Carolina 1-A archrival Rosewood launched its season about two hours later Friday morning. Like the Bulldogs, the Eagles have conducted workouts all summer and their main order of business is getting young players into the positions that are going to benefit them and the team.

Rosewood is installing a new offense that's going to take some extra time. But, so far, the team has exceeded the expectations of head coach Robert Britt.

"We started the basics of installing it in November, and it's grown from there," Britt said. "Now we don't know how it looks against bodies yet, but we're pleased with what we've seen from the guys."

Minor and Britt have stressed conditioning the first two days.

"Everybody needs conditioning," Britt said. "The older guys and the younger guys. Getting them up to speed with how the game is one of the first goals."

Charles B. Aycock hit the ground running by getting its offense and defense in gear on day one.

The Golden Falcons also handled some uniform issues since 100 kids -- varsity and JV combined -- reported for the first day. A total of 20 new helmets were ordered.

"We've created an environment of enthusiasm," second-year CBA head coach Steve Brooks said. "They like the scheme, they like what we're doing here. The coaches who coach other sports have pushed these kids to play multiple sports and it's showing that they're taking it to heart."

The Golden Falcons worked out in the rain, but the coaches had no issues with the weather. It was better than the typical August heat that comes along most seasons.

"We told those kids to go home and thank God they got the weather they did to play football," Brooks said.