Published: August 26, 2008 11:43 pm            

Lions turn into gym rats

Rain or shine, Christian Heritage is ready for some football.

For the past few days, weather has limited the Lions’ preparation for Saturday’s season opener at home against Northside Christian Athletics in Georgia Football League competition.

On Tuesday, the Lions were caged, restricted to gym workouts and a lighter practice load, but coach Mike Vaden said the circumstances didn’t stop the team from having a productive day.

“The practice went well,” Vaden said. “Inside, it’s more difficult to maintain focus, but our kids are excited and ready to play football.”

The third-year coach admitted, though, there is no advantage to a football practice held on a basketball court.

“Unless it’s real hot outside,” he said. “In that case, we could go a little longer. It’s a different environment in here and that makes it harder to prepare. Football is an outdoor sport, obviously, but it’s still nice to have somewhere to go when it does rain.”

Lineman Isaac Thomason — one of nine seniors on the team — doesn’t mind the weather.

“We practiced great,” Thomason said. “The atmosphere is a little cooler in here, so it’s nice to have a little bit of a break and practice in the air conditioning.”

Another senior lineman, David Hill, said the wet weather has not caused the team any distractions.

“We’ve been pushing ourselves and our teammates hard,” he said. “We’re ready for a great season. We’ve got so many seniors and we’ve been putting in a lot work on our conditioning.”

The recent weather hasn’t been the only circumstance that has complicated the Lions’ preparation for Sat-urday’s opener.

Despite contacting every GFL school, Vaden was unsuccessful in his attempt to arrange a preseason scrimmage.

“We’ve been working hard to prepare for the first game and I was disappointed we were unable to get a scrimmage in,” Vaden said. “I sent a letter to all the GISA teams, but it didn’t work out. So we’re going into a situation not knowing how we’re going to play.”

Other GFL teams in closer proximity to each other did scrimmage, with Bartow playing the Lions’ season-opening opponent, NCA. Vaden spoke with Bartow’s coach and was able to gather some scouting information.

Because the Lions’ have just 29 players — meaning several players go both ways — there was no opportunity for a spring game.

How long it will take for the Lions to get into a regular-season groove is anyone’s guess, said senior running back Jared Cronan, who also plays defensive back and punts.

“There’s no way to tell,” Cronan said. “Without that scrimmage, there is no starting point to build from.

“We haven’t gone out against another team, and we’re not going to hit each other as hard in practice as we would someone else on another team, so we’ll just have to wait until we hit the field to see where we are.”

        

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