Getting Started / Football teams hit fields after getting washed out of outdoor practice

Columbus North football player Keegan Castetter catches a pass during football practice at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

After four months away from each other and four weeks of limited football practice and conditioning, Columbus East and Columbus North were eager to get back to work Monday, when practice around the state officially began.

Rain and lightning put a damper on those plans.

While the Olympians and Bull Dogs were able to do mostly indoor work on Monday, Tuesday became the de facto first day of practice.

“I think today kind of had that first-day feel to it because (Monday) was so short out on the field,” North coach Tim Bless said. “We still got some work done (Monday) in both the weight room and some meeting install after we had the weather delay. But as far as on-the-field reps, today was kind of a first day.”

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While the Bull Dogs were on the field Monday for about 20 minutes before lightning was spotted, East never made it to the field that day. So the Olympians went to work in their school’s auxiliary gym.

Tuesday, East coach Bob Gaddis put his team through two 90-minute practices — one in the morning and another in the evening. Both of those were planned prior to the change of plans on Monday.

“With less time in the summer, we didn’t get to go to team camp, and we didn’t have our own team camp,” Gaddis said. “We just felt like it was time to catch up a little bit this week. The kids are doing pretty well. We’re throwing a lot at them early and trying to let them sort it out. We have a lot of kids getting a lot of reps.”

Gaddis said for the situation his team is in, with the limited time it has had together, he thought the Olympians got a lot done from the time teams could resume workouts on July 6.

“Our goal really was to work on just being a team again because they had been apart so much and trying to work on our conditioning and team unity,” Gaddis said. “I thought they did a really good job with that in July, and now, we’re trying to concentrate a lot more on scheme on both sides. We don’t want to leave our fundamentals behind, so we spent a lot of time on fundamentals today, and we’ll continue to do that.”

East senior running back Mark McDonald was glad to get back on the field Tuesday.

“It was a pretty good first day, coming out here this morning and doing stuff and getting back in the groove of things, running plays and going against the defense,” McDonald said. “It was a pretty good day.”

The Olympians are breaking in a new signal caller in senior Malachi Parks. Parks has been the backup quarterback the past two years and saw action at wide receiver and defensive back last season.

“It went pretty well,” Parks said. “It’s just keeping our masks on and trying to stay distanced is kind of new for us. But the team looks great. Both sides of the ball look great, and we can’t wait to get ready to roll.”

The East coaches carried a 6-foot wooden stick to remind them to social distance, and players wore masks when they weren’t on the field.

“They’re doing a good job when they’re not in,” Gaddis said. “We’re putting offense on one side of the field and defense on the other to reduce that herding. They’re standing apart, and they’re keeping their masks up, and then we’re using lot of hand sanitizer. They’re doing a good job of it. It’s different for them, but they’re buying in. I’m really happy with it.”

The North players broke down into groups before hitting the weight room on Monday to avoid crowding.

“It’s just added areas of responsibility that we all have to play a role in,” Bless said. “It’s tough to begin with, and now, it’s even tougher with all the added things that you’re responsible for. But we have to work together and get the job done so we can keep playing football.”

As the leader of the offensive line, North senior left tackle J.J. Montgomery was glad to see that unit mesh at Tuesday’s practice.

“For the first day, I feel like it went really well,” Montgomery said. “The big guys up there, we’re all coming along. We’re coming together as a unit. We know each other already, we talk to each other, we help each other out, so it’s looking real good. We’re just trying to whittle down the mistakes now.”

Bless felt Tuesday’s practice was a little rough and that he knows his team has work to do. But he love the attitudes.

Tuesday was the first day that contact was allowed.

“We got a lot done (Monday),” North senior running back Blake Huffman said. “I wouldn’t say it feels like the first practice, but it just kind of gets you more and more anxious for the first full-pad day. I think there’s definitely things we need to work on, things we need to get better at. But I think overall, for the second day out here, we got a good start, and I think we’re going to be OK this year.”