The anticipation of high school football practice is in the air — in fact it’s just one day away. Players and coaches have put in hard work in the weight room, at spring practice and with conditioning, chomping at the bit for the kick off to the season.
At Union High School, they’ve been hitting the weight room pretty hard in preparation for the upcoming season. The Spartans enter the 2016 season with a 6-6 season a year ago. Coach Doug Burley enters his ninth year at the helm of the Spartans and noted he excited about the upcoming season. His team will return nine players on defense and eight on offense, which has the coach pretty stoked about the upcoming season.
“We are hoping that the hard work will pay off down the road,” stated Burley.
The Spartans have scrimmage games on Aug. 10 at C.B. Aycock, where they will face Ayden Griffin, North Johnson and the home team. Scrimmage is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
Going south down the road to Harrells Christian Academy, the first practice was held July 25. They too have been working diligently in the weight room, according to second year head coach Mike Brill.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I think our kids are up for the challenge,” noted Brill. “We currently have 22 players on the roster and ran a three-day camp. The kids were unreal and did their jobs well. In fact, our camp was supposed to run five days, but we finished it in three. I’m tickled.”
The team lost eight key players and 14 starters from last year.
“These kids work hard and have good work ethic. We will show up and play to see what areas we need to work on,” Brill said.
The Crusaders will gear up for their upcoming scrimmage on Aug. 11 at Pender, where they will face Swansboro and Topsail. It is set to take place at 5 p.m.
