PREP FOOTBALL: Rebels get good night of work done

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on August 3, 2016 1:48 PM

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CALYPSO -- Know your role.

That fundamental notion stretched across extended classroom sessions Tuesday evening, as the North Duplin varsity football team waited out the presence of a blossoming storm system near its practice facility.

Scheduled to begin its second opening-week assembly at 7 p.m., players and coaches did not report to "the pit" until nearly half an hour later.

That's not to say the diversion muddled the team's schedule.

Players jammed head coach Hugh Martin's office in overflow capacity, where they received a white-board overview of different defensive concepts.

They talked read steps and run responsibility. Locating wideouts and finding the proper angle. Making a clean, efficient break on the football.

Defensive linemen worked in the locker room, revisiting pad-level technique and walking through elements of containment, including re-routing the opposition's wide receivers.

In the library, the team's inside linebacking corp reviewed content and packages with position coaches.

The message?

Identify your responsibility. Prevent the home run play.

"Younger players have a lot more to recall and internalize," head coach Hugh Martin said.

Once on the field, the Rebels turned the page, focusing on drill-down offensive skills through individual work stations.

Quarterbacks paced three-step drops, solidified hand-offs and ran through elements of sound pitch work. Wideouts burned through precise route-running and more sophisticated turns of the Rebel route tree.

On the far side of the facility, with darkness quickly approaching, the offensive line got physical against an aged blocking sled.

Following the team's first water break, the coaching staff organized quick-hitting stations that ultimately morphed into spirited seven-on-seven work.

Under the lights, North Duplin coaches went through the rigors of assignment football, with an eye for the re-introduction of pads and full contact over the next few days.

All things considered, Martin was pleased with the disjointed session's outcome.

"Hopefully today we hear and see continued improvement," he said. "And the speed of execution will continue to grow."

The Rebels begin the regular season Aug. 19 against Chocowinity Southside.