FHS, J.U. Blacksher to spar in jamboree

Published 12:02 am Thursday, August 21, 2014

0821 spt-Florala, green

Florala’s offensive and defensive line players get in some work last week during practice as Wildcats assistant coach Daniel Green looks on. | Andrew Garner/Star-News

Florala’s ready to tackle somebody other then itself.

The Wildcats will get the chance to do that tonight as they host J.U. Blacksher for a preseason jamboree game at Mathews Stadium.

“Obviously, we’re excited to get to line up and compete against somebody else,” first-year FHS head football coach Brad Rhodes said. “We’ve been banging up against each other the last couple weeks. After having not seen them in the spring, I’m eager to see these guys perform in a live game.”

Kick off will be at 6 tonight with the varsity players playing the first half and junior varsity playing the second half.

Rhodes said one of the big keys the coaches have been stressing to the players has been to play at full speed.

“We know there are going to be mistakes and we want to make them at full speed,” he said.

From what Rhodes gathers, the Bulldogs had good numbers during their spring and played in more of a spread look with a two-tight double-wing offense.

“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us,” he sad. “This will be a good thing to open up the season and see where we’re at.”

As of right now, Rhodes said the starters for the game have been nailed down. Seeing who will fill the No. 2 spots on the depth chart is going to be a top priority tonight.

“They’re going to be the key guys to help us throughout the season,” he said.