Phil Campbell players and coaches look on as one of their receivers dodges a Lynn defender attempting to make the tackle.

by Bart Moss for the FCT

The end of the school year signals brings a flurry of Spring football games.  Each Franklin County school participated in a Spring football game last week.  Phil Campbell defeated Lynn, Red Bay defeated Tishomingo County (MS), Vina defeated Mars Hill, Russellville lost to Bob Jones, and Tharptown lost to West Morgan.

Spring games rarely have any bearing on the upcoming Fall season.  Teams play competition they usually don’t see in the Fall, they mix and match players in different positions to experiment, they mix varsity games and junior varsity games in the same event, and many times they aren’t even playing with all of their players.

Spring is important for coaches to get their players back in football mode heading into Summer workouts, finding out who their leaders will be going into next season, and building a work ethic to help prepare them for the fall.

The following is a quick summary of each coach’s reflection on their spring practice:

Ryan Swinney, Phil Campbell High School:

“I thought we played a really good spring game against Lynn.  We made a few critical mistakes- a fumble on the one yard line and a long run.  Our guys played hard and the offense moved the ball well.  We had a good two weeks of practice now we just have to go back to work this summer to work toward our goals in the regular season.”

Michael Jackson, Red Bay High School:

         “Our senior leadership was excellent this spring.  Our running game was excellent in the spring game.  We had over 300 yards rushing.  We hit some big plays in the passing game.  That is one points of emphasis to improve upon.  Our young kids have to continue to improve over the summer to develop more depth and get more kids on the field.  This team has excellent leadership with 26 juniors and seniors returning.”

Mark Heaton, Russellville High School:

         “Our spring game went well for having only six days of practice.  Our returning guys have made noticeable strides in the strength and conditioning program through the off season.  We have a couple of spots where we really need some guys to step up for us and we will utilize the summer to get that done.  Overall, we were much improved from last spring and have to carry that over into the summer in preparation for the 2015 season.”

Jason Murray, Tharptown High School:

“We have some leadership emerging which is always a positive.  We believe that the players dedication to the weight room is beginning to pay dividends.  We need to continue to work and become more comfortable with the new offensive and defensive schemes were are putting in place.  We also need to start developing confidence among our starters and developing some depth.”

Luke Childers, Vina High School:

“Our guys played really hard against Mars Hill in the spring Game.  The work we did in Spring training really paid off.  Our defense played well getting a safety.  Our defense made some big hits and were playing better than I’ve seen them play in a long time.  We have more depth than we’ve had in a long time and a lot of leadership.  We have to work on making better decisions in the passing game and stop giving up big plays.  We are really excited about starting Summer workouts.”