Putting in the work: Part 1 -- Aycock, Rosewood, Goldsboro SC off to good start

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 3, 2015 1:48 PM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

Steve Brooks looked at his watch.

"One minute," he shouted.

The seconds slowly ticked away.

Brooks took another glance and started a countdown as if it was New Year's Eve.

"10, 9, 8, 7 ..."

The Charles B. Aycock players joined in.

As Brooks' watch tripped to 12 a.m., the Golden Falcons rushed out for a five-minute session of Falcon jacks. There was no confetti, no popping of corks on champagne bottles.

Still, it was a celebratory affair.

High school football season has officially started.

Aycock and North Duplin each held a first-ever midnight madness practice. Rosewood completed its mini-camp. The area's remaining teams -- Goldsboro, Spring Creek, Southern Wayne, Princeton and Eastern Wayne donned helmets, cleats, T-shirts and shorts on a sunny, humid Saturday morning.

"That's the whole point of going at midnight ... having a lot of fun," said Brooks, who had to scramble to find a practice facility.

Aycock was shut down mid-week, which canceled the program's second "All-In" preseason dinner, quick tour around the weight room and a one-hour workout session on campus. Chad Pate opened the gates at the Eastern Carolina Athletic Park and the Golden Falcons went through numerous drills for 45 minutes while parents watched from a distance behind the fence.

"Chad Pate and those guys helping us out was tremendous," Brooks said. "I thought we got a lot of work done in a quick amount of time. We're ahead of the curve, not just starting at 'ground zero' tonight like some of the teams.

"Obviously, they've put in a lot of work. They know some offensive reps and defensive places where to be. It's all a testament to our kids and our coaches."

The JV starting quarterback two seasons ago and TJ Morrow's backup last season, junior Jake Flowers took most of the reps during the team's offensive drills.

Flowers appeared at ease.

"Once you get on the field, (the pressure) all goes away," Flowers said. "At practice, you're always thinking about what you are going to do in the moment. I hope it will just come, not going to worry too much about it.

"There are some big shoes to fill, but I can't put it on myself to be just like TJ ... he was a freak. I've just got to let the offense do its own work and trust in Coach Brooks, my receivers and everything like that."

Music filtered down the hallway and the windows reverberated from the bass as Goldsboro's varsity team went through a weight-room session Saturday morning. The players had a team meeting and then hit the field for their first practice with second-year head coach Bennett Johnson.

Johnson complimented his team's offseason dedication and said that every varsity player -- at different points of the year -- utilized the new facility that was installed earlier this year.

The Cougars have two new faces on its varsity staff this season -- offensive coordinator William McIntyre and defensive coordinator Jay Wilson. McIntyre spent time at Division II UNC Pembroke and Wilson served on Goldsboro's JV staff last season.

Also back is Danny Merritt.

"After spring ball and summer ball, we're much further ahead where we've ever been just because we've had so much more time together," Johnson said. "These first few days (of practice) will be getting everything installed -- dotting our 'i's' and crossing our 't's'."

Down in Seven Springs, nearly 40 Gators took the field to continue their conditioning drills in a program that constantly relies on two-way starters. Alum and head coach Aaron Sanders said spring football and the summer passing league helped developed the offensive and defensive sets his team will execute this fall.

"The kids were a little slow to get rolling, but once they got a little enthusiasm about them, they got rolling," Sanders said. "We use this time for conditioning, but you're not spending much time getting in your base concepts because those are in. We spent a lot more time doing 7-on-7s this summer.

"That made it more smooth and we were able to get some things done. You can tell that spring ball played a big difference."

Some normal faces were missing from the SC bunch due to a mission trip and some prior obligations. Sanders is optimistic that the Gators could play a JV schedule this season if the numbers mirror those that appeared during the spring.

Footballs flew through the humid night air, push-ups were in abundance and players executed agility drills during day three of Rosewood's mini-camp on Friday evening.

Strong at the skill positions, the Eagles' staff -- particularly head coach Robert Britt and assistant Jason King -- spent more time with the defense instead. The varsity lost nine starters from a year ago.

Britt and King took time to explain gap and blocking coverage to their young charges, who have shown some improvement since an eight-day spring session.

"We're taking it real slow with them," Britt said of the defense. We're making sure that people understand the biggest thing, early on with a young group, is that we line up correctly. Once that becomes muscle memory, we can line up against different formations.

"Then we'll start playing a little bit faster."