PREP FOOTBALL: Saints begin preparation for 2017 season

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on August 1, 2017 5:52 AM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Game speed.

Such was the charted course on Monday for Southern Wayne High School, whose varsity football troupe opened its preseason camp sans the area's typical dog-day air, but with a host of hot-button tasks to otherwise master.

In what proved to be a timed-to-the-second trial of speed bursts, the Halos channeled head coach Ronnie McClary Jr.'s booming directives into a gaggle of individual drills designed to make the sum of its parts greater than anything else.

And yes, they did so in a hurry.

"The more reps we can get in," McClary Jr. said. "We feel like we'll have a better chance of perfecting those small things."

So, station-by-tireless-station they went.

Trench-bound hopefuls opened with sled work, the coach's specialty, and attacked its burly mass three at a time behind the stadium's east end zone.

Opposite the grunts, there was the Southern receiving corp, presided over by assistant coach David Lee, a fellow whose demand of precision footwork was only exceeded by his calls for all-in effort.

"If you make a mistake," he said, echoing his remarks prior to the day's start, "make it at a hundred miles an hour."

The real show, however, unfolded at the track infield's west end, where running backs coach Claude Waters ran his portion of the day with five-star flair and frivolity.

Between barbs and a bevy of strewn blocking pads, his brood absorbed details regarding various points of attack. Ten deep and ready to rumble, the group enthusiastically took handoffs and crafted cuts against their leader's comic voiceover.

"If I say tippy-toe, don't get mad," the coach said after a player's high waltz through the traffic. "Until you change it, that's your name."

Point duly noted.

Much of the morning carried out in this fashion, with players showing little to none of the early-camp lethargy some teams fight during the first week of August.

"Details and specifics," McClary Jr. said of the approach. "As hard as we can go. A lot of people don't realize... our schedule is stacked with state champions and guys that have gone deep into the playoffs. And if we can compete with each other, by the time we get to game day, we should be prepared."

Until then -- an August 9 scrimmage versus East Duplin -- the outfit will continue to prepare like its hair is on fire.