Lee County welcomes Thomasville, Coffee, and Schley for a joint summer practice
LEESBERG, Ga. (WALB) - With just a little under two months until the official football season and temperatures hitting the upper 90′s, that can only mean one thing. Summer football practices are in full swing, especially in Lee County.
The Trojans hosted a joint OTA practice that included the Thomasville Bulldogs, Coffee Trojans, and the Schley Wildcats.
On the far-right side of the field, it was Trojan vs Trojan as Lee County faced off against Coffee. The Lee County Trojans, who are coming off a disappointing postseason loss, continue to emerge as one of the favorites in 6A this year.
They return quarterback Weston Bryan and 4-star running back Ousmane Kromah.
While the official season doesn’t kick off until August, today was one step closer to real football for coach Fabrizio and the Trojans.
“Well today when you put those shoulder pads on, it becomes really close to real football. The other stuff, the working out, the 7 on 7′s that’s great. We feel like we get better from that but when you put shoulder pads on, it’s close to real football so, we’re going to get a look at our guys a lot of chances to evaluate players today and get better on things” said coach Fabrizio.
For Coffee, who are the only 5A team in South Georgia today was a chance to face a new level of competition according to head coach Coe,
“When Coach Fabrizio called and asked, did we want to come do this I mean I didn’t hesitate because, but you know it gets tiring facing the same guys day in and day out. This was really good for us the program they have, the type of athlete they have, the coaching staff they have. We got better today.”
The Coffee Trojans will have a new 1-2 punch in the backfield this year. They return running back Fred Brown while Tyrese Woodgett will step into the next man up role. After a full year under his belt as head coach of the Trojans, coach Coe feels his squad is ahead of the game this year.
The Thomasville Bulldogs finished the season undefeated in region play with Freshman Camren Hill under center. After losing four guys upfront on the offense, a sleuth of new talent continues to fight for those spots this summer.
The Bulldogs head coach said “We’re a new team, we’re trying to be 1-0 with each step, with each series with everything that we do. We’re just trying to be 1-0. Last year was great but it’s over, it’s done with. We got guys back and we got new guys were trying to build with. We’re just trying to make sure we’re 1-0 in every rep and we’re ready going into region play time.” when asked about his message this summer.
After reaching the State Championship for the first time in school history, Schley County is gearing up for another run at the title.
The Wildcats are led by MaxPrep Sophomore All-American Zayden Walker and Jalewis Solomon despite having elite talent in their own backyard, Head Coach Alford and the Wildcats are taking every opportunity to compete against the best programs.
After practice, the Coach Alford spoke about the benefits of a joint practice, specifically for his team, saying “for us it’s tremendous because we’re a small school, our two’s can’t match what this other team can. We play against some really good competition here. It really helps us see what real football looks like in the fall, it’s invaluable for us.”
All four schools will be back for another round of joint practices on Thursday, June 29 at Lee County High.
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