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EDWARDSVILLE – It won't be long before area high school teams take the field to begin preparations for the 2015 season.
Before that happens, however, teams are allowed to assemble for 25 days of organized team activities, and Edwardsville hosted one such activity Monday night when Cahokia, Hardin-Calhoun and Staunton got together for some seven-on-seven workouts at Tiger Stadium.
Seven-on-seven sessions involve a quarterback, running backs, receivers and a center going up against linebackers and defensive backs in passing-game situations for a specified time period. Each team went up against each other in these drills that allowed participants to help get their timing down and experience situations that may come up during a game. No pads or helmets are used in these sessions and no contact is allowed.
“We use these sessions as a way to teach the kids how to react to situations and to learn the things we'll want to do in games,” said Edwardsville coach Matt Martin. “It'll give us a chance to see some things from other teams that we don't normally get to play during the season and a chance to get some experience.
“We were able to get a lot of kids in and get them some experience tonight, and that's always a good thing.”
“We looked pretty good overall,” said Warrior coach Aaron Elmore. “We were glad to be able to come down and take on some larger schools (Hardin-Calhoun is an IHSA Class 1A school, while Edwardsville competed in Class 8A last season). Edwardsville's always one of the top programs in the area year in and year out, and it gave us a chance to see how we compare to some of the larger schools here.
“They have a very nice facility here and we're glad we had the chance to come down and take part.”
Martin cited Chris Covey and Grant Brantley on the defensive side and Jordan Jones on the offensive side as having outstanding sessions and quarterback Riley Jones as someone to watch.
“He's (Riley Jones) worked hard all year and people are going to be very pleasantly surprised by him,” Martin said. “He's a really good player.”
Elmore singled out Tyler Webster, Ty Bick, Blake Booth and Wes Klocke as his top players on the evening. “All of them had a great session,” Elmore said.
Preseason practice gets under way for all schools Aug. 10, with the opening day of the season coming Aug. 28. The IHSA state championship games are set for Thanksgiving weekend at Huskie Stadium on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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