Published: August 01, 2009 11:08 pm         

Let the drills begin

Cats work out, prep for camp

Saturday was the first official day for preseason practice for Georgia High School Association football teams, and area schools were quick to hit the field. Most worked out twice on the first day.

And when you think drills in August, you think of a blazing sun, relentless heat and humidity. At Dalton, however, 90-degree weather was not an issue.

While it was still humid, the sun slipped behind clouds during the Catamounts’ afternoon workout, dropping the thermometer to a more comfortable high-70s reading.

“We were very blessed today to have good weather both this morning and in the afternoon,” Cats coach Adam Winegarden said. “The kids had good attitudes today and were working hard.”

Starting defensive back Trae Washington, who will be a senior this year, was just glad to be back on the field, regardless of weather conditions.

“Today was great,” he said. “We had great intensity and it was just fun being out there.”

While the clouds saved the players from heat, another senior, Shaqoun Moore saved the team from extra work. Typically, at the end of every practice, players have to participate in “pursuit drills” which include a repetition of various plays followed by 50-yard sprints. But the team would be allowed to forgo the rigorous drill if Moore could successfully land a flat-footed backflip.

“(Winegarden) saw me do one during a 7-on-7 drill,” Moore said. “I was just playing around and did it, and he said, ‘Wow, do that again.’ It was pressure because my teammates would have been mad if I messed it up and we would have had to do the drill.”

Moore landed the flip without a struggle, but it wasn’t the only flip he executed at practice.

For the first time since his freshman year, Moore, the Cats’ starting fullback the past two seasons and leading rusher in 2008, was practicing at linebacker.

Moore, along with sophomore Tre Beck, the team’s second-leading rusher last season, will play in several defensive packages this season in addition to their offensive duties.

Moore not only accepted the challenge, but had been asking for double-duty for more than a year.

“I like to hit,” he said. “I’d rather make a hit than get hit, so playing linebacker is good for me.”

Defensive coordinator Kit Carpenter said using Moore and Beck on certain down-and-distances will make the Cats’ defense even more diversified.

“Both of those guys are tremendous athletes,” Carpenter said. “So I have to take advantage of the skills they have and work them into situations where they can make our team successful.”

Dalton finished last season, Winegarden’s first as head coach, with a 7-3 record (4-2 in Region 7-4A), missing the Class 4A state playoffs by one game. They open this season Aug. 28 at Calhoun (12-3, 5-0 in 7B-2A), which lost to Buford, 45-21, in last year’s Class 2A state championship game.

Dalton beat Calhoun in last year’s season opener 30-7 at Harmon Field.

n Washington will have extra incentive to have the best season of his prep career in 2009, having already received a scholarship offer from Western Carolina’s Catamounts.

The school, located in Cullowhee, N.C., competes in the Southern Conference.

Washington hasn’t yet committed to Western Carolina, choosing instead to keep his options open in hopes of receiving more offers.

Washington has been told, he said, that the Western Carolina coaches definitely want him to play college ball in Cullowhee.

“They said I was a great tackler,” Washington said.

Winegarden said Western Carolina has been recruiting Washington since the spring and made its offer after its coaches attended a spring practice.

“It didn’t surprise me at all that they offered him a scholarship,” Winegar-den said.

n The Cats will leave today for Bell Buckle, Tenn., the site of their annual preseason camp. While a lot of schools around the state stay on campus for camps, Winegarden considers the trip a necessary getaway.

“Bell Buckle is like a resort to Dalton football,” he said. “It’s a place where we can go to get away from everything and focus just on football for one week. It’s a time for the team to grow together as a family and concentrate without any distractions, so it’s very important to our football team.”

     

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