As I sat in my recliner last night, nodding off while the Royals actually won a game, I realized something.
It’s officially football season.
I have been waiting for this since around May, so getting the chance to go out and watch some practice yesterday felt good.
Both high schools in the Pratt area began two-a-day practices this week, with rain from the weekend helping to keep to temperatures reasonably cool for this time of year.
As I walked around at both team’s practices yesterday, I sort of found myself wandering around. For me, it’s tough, because I’m not familiar enough with faces to tell who is who underneath those practice helmets, but that doesn’t really matter. Just watching the players line up and work on plays, or even work at specific positions made me want to pick up a football and play a little two-hand touch.
Walking around with my camera at Pratt’s afternoon practice, I was able to piece together a few names to go with faces based on the position groups they were working with. This allowed me to get at least a vague familiarity with the team itself, watching them work on passing drills and running a few plays.
A glance at Pratt’s schedule shows many winnable games. Pratt has three gimmes scheduled, with a trip to Kingman in week two as well as a pair of games against Nickerson and Haven (combined 2009 record: 1-17) that make up 2/3 of its district schedule. On the flip side, Pratt will have a pair of tough games, with a trip to Rose Hill in week four and a home game against Buhler in district. That leaves four games on the schedule that could go either way, with Hesston, Mulvane, Smoky Valley and Halstead all sporting records near-.500 records.
With this schedule, the sky is the limit for the Pratt Greenbacks this season.
Out at Skyline, I watched my first 8-man practice, with Coach Jon Novotny keeping his players busy.
Skyline’s schedule includes a six-game district slate, with perrenial powers Macksville and Pretty Prairie representing big obstacles for a post-season berth. However, the Thunderbirds’ record has a good chance to improve as they play five games against teams with sub-.500 records from last season.
Whether or not they will improve remains to be seen, but I do know one thing. I’ve heard a lot about how different and entertaining 8-man football can be, and I’m excited to check it out.
Of course, high school football isn’t the only game in town. College football is gearing up for the season, and so are my Kansas City Chiefs. But, I’ll save that column for another day. Needless to say, I was underwhelmed by the first preseason game.
