Football season arrives

It is finally go time.

A Christmas morning of sorts for northeastern Louisiana players, coaches and fans. Prep football teams in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association can hit the practice field as a unit beginning Monday. While teams will not be allowed to put full pads on until Thursday, August 13 there is still plenty to do to keep teams busy preparing for the upcoming season.

“As a football coach this is what we work for,” West Monroe coach Jerry Arledge said. “This is why we work hard all year. The kids work so hard. And not just here at West Monroe, Whether you are talking about Neville or Ouachita or Wossman, wherever it is. These kids are working hard year around.”

The beginning of practice for many teams include work on special teams formations and execution in things such as kickoffs and punt coverage.

Coaches will get a much better sense of their team once putting the pads on. For now, they will take just getting the entire team on the field together, working toward a common goal.

“We are excited about it,” Sterlington coach Jason Thompson said. “Everybody is kind of tired of the weight room. We will cover everything with the special teams and implement things on both sides of the ball. We will throw a lot at them and see what they can handle this time of the year.”

“I will feel better about it when we get the pads on,” Ouachita coach Jeff Fitzgerald said. “Just not a lot you can do until you get the pads on. But it is good to get out there all together. Our guys have been working in units all year. Now we can go from five different groups to one group. We will do a lot of special teams stuff and continue throwing the ball like we have been doing.”

Arledge feels good about his offense’s ability to throw the football as well with the return of what the squad hopes is a healthy senior quarterback, Jon Randall Belton. Belton is coming off season-ending knee surgery in both 2013 and 2014. Aside from his athletic ability, Belton brings a leadership quality that the Rebels hope takes them to the next level.

“The best thing for us is having several guys back out there who didn’t get to play for us last season,” Arledge said. “He (Belton) is a proven leader for us and we are certainly happy to have him back out there with us. Layton Garnett (moving from linebacker to defensive end) and Chartarius Terry (offensive line), Daryl Shields (wide receiver) and Chandler McKane (defensive end) are back with us.”

Arledge said Garnett is excited to try things at defensive end where he projects at the college level. McCain was battling for a starting defensive end position before injury.

Connect with Cody on Twitter @cfutrellTNS or via e-mail cfutrell@thenewsstar.com