Football, for those who celebrate the sanctity of the gridiron, has returned!
The all-too-familiar and much appreciated click-clacking sounds of helmets and shoulder pads meeting, whistles blowing, and coaches finding the perfect pitch in their voice for delivering instruction could be heard all afternoon at Raider Stadium as Habersham Central High School took advantage of the opening day of practice for fall sports as determined by the Georgia High School Association.
The Raiders donned their cleats and signature orange helmets as they moved through drill after drill on John Larry Black Field in Mt. Airy in preparation for a new season ahead, but, more importantly for Friday night’s scrimmage against Oconee County High School.
According to Head Coach Benji Harrison, the first day “was OK.”
In comparing it to Day 1’s of yesteryear, Harrison said it’s completely different now for various reasons. The biggest reason: health.
“I told somebody the other day that Day 1 in pads is different than it used to be,” he said. “The reason is because we do so much in the summer. We’re practicing every day in the summer. Also, Day 1 in pads is a little bit different to me now because we’re playing games so much earlier. It’s not like in the old days when the pads come out and you think, ‘Let’s just knock everybody out.’ You can’t do that anymore. We have a game this Friday.”
It was obvious to anyone watching that the schedule and drills were drawn up to keep intensity high, but injuries low. Contact stopped at just that – contact. Everything was done at full speed, but there wasn’t a whole lot of tackling to the ground.
“You’ve got to be smart. Yes, you’ve got to be physical, but you’ve got to pick your parts of practice when you can do that and still try to keep guys healthy,” Harrison said. “It’s such a fine line. You don’t want to create bad habits, but we’re trying to make contact and trying not to go to the ground if we can help it. We’re trying to do both and mix being physical and being smart as well.”
As is the case with every high school team, the Raiders entered spring with questions and a few positions on both sides of the ball. The class of 2024 took with it all five starting offensive linemen from a year ago. It also took a few linebackers and some defensive backs.
Though HCHS has been in varying competition throughout the summer with different camps and 7-on-7 competitions, Monday was a further glimpse into what answers Harrison and his staff have for those questions.
“Talking about the spots that made me nervous because there’s a lot of inexperience, two of the three stack linebackers are sophomores right now. It’s fun to watch them as they get it. They only know one speed and it’s fast,” Harrison said. “We had an injury on the O-line today and another guy stepped in and we didn’t miss a beat. That’s part of it.”
Harrison said he thought the team showed itself well on the offensive side of the ball, but said Tuesday would be a better gauge of that because the offense was fresh on Monday since it went through its paces early in the day. Tuesday the defense will go early in the rotation and offense later.
Harrison said he was proud of the fight his team showed in terms of not letting up through practice. The group started the day after an early afternoon rain shower and the humidity was through the roof as practice commenced.
“I thought the sun got us a little bit. It was the first day we’ve had the shoulder pads and the shells on, so I thought that got us a little bit with humidity,” Harrison said. “But Friday nights are hot for the first half of the season, so we’ve got to learn how to adjust with it. I like the fact that I thought we found a way to fight through when we were tired.
“That’s what Friday nights are about,” he said. “ You’re going to be tired, you’re going to be hurting, and you have to find a way to play.”
In the final huddle of the day, Harrison challenged his players. Mainly, he challenged the players who felt they were guys.
“If you’re going to be a guy on this team who thinks ‘I’m a guy on this team,’ then you’ve got to be a guy every day at practice. You’ve got to be a leader at practice, you have to let your body language be positive every day at practice, you’ve got to encourage every day at practice, if you’re a guy,” Harrison said to the team at large. “If you think you’re a guy, you’ve got to be a guy every rep every day at practice. The other guys will see it and those other guys that are young will see it and they will become that way as they get older. It’s about showing them what’s expected because you’ve been there before and setting the tone for everything we do on a daily basis.”
In reflecting on the day, Harrison said coaches overall can be guilty of harping on the negatives they saw in a practice session, but he felt good about the first day.
“I think there were a lot of positives,” he said. “Coaches always pick out every negative. Then, when you watch it on film, you’ll say ‘That wasn’t bad and that wasn’t bad.’ I thought, for the first day, it wasn’t bad. Hopefully it’ll be a little better tomorrow.”
The Raiders will host the Warriors for the scrimmage at Raider Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
