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Ah, the power of pads

By DAVID MURPHY
Published August 4, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - They arrived early, about 7:45 on a Thursday morning thick with humidity. Five of the top football players from Hernando County, uniforms on, helmets in hand, walked through a cement plant on the outskirts of town.

They were preparing for a photo shoot for the Times' football preview, but all they could talk about was practice.

Or, more specifically, hitting.

"Today is what I've been waiting for," Hernando running back Robert Smith said with a grin. "Time to hit."

Yes, it's that time again, and even if you misplaced your official Florida High School Athletic Association calendar, the thwack of plastic-on-plastic is notice enough. Thursday marked the first day high school teams in the state were allowed to practice in pads, and they didn't waste any time.

Hernando's practice began in the late afternoon beneath a large tree at the far end of the practice field. Coach Matt Smith held court for a few minutes, but in no time, the blocking sled was sliding across the grass, the running backs were lowering their shoulder pads, and the tackling dummies were lined up on the ground.

"This is it," Central running back DuJuan Harris said. "Time to get my football legs back under me."

Still, Harris said, area players won't be completely satisfied until they get a chance to hit somebody in a different colored jersey.

"You look forward to getting into pads," he said, "but eventually you get tired of hitting your own teammates."

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO: In the spring, conventional wisdom said rising junior Raleigh Williams would end up succeeding Kyle Sizemore at quarterback for the Leopards. Problem is, Williams isn't at Hernando anymore. In fact, he's not even in high school.

According to Leopards coach Smith, Williams graduated a year early in order to enroll at Brigham Young University in Utah. The result is a quarterback competition between two players who have yet to take a snap in a varsity game.

Junior Jason Davies and Lamont Neal are busy battling for the starting job. Kyle Neal is also involved.

Davies played quarterback last year on the junior varsity team and took some snaps in the spring game. Neal played wide receiver last year on varsity, but played quarterback on JV the season before.

Both have some throwing ability. Davies is a little taller. Neal is a little quicker.

Smith said Davies is a little ahead in the competition because of the way he played in the spring game.

Davies spent the summer working out with Hernando wide receivers in passing drills on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

He said he assumed that an older player eventually would get the call at quarterback, but that changed when Smith told the team everyone would have a legitimate shot.

"I can do better," Davies said. "There's always room for improvement."

Neal, for his part, said he does not care whether he plays quarterback or wide receiver. Either way, he'll be on the field.

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as we are winning games," Neal said.

CUT TO THE CHASE: At this time last year, Chase Walker was preparing for a season on the bench. Senior captain Gary Owen was Central's quarterback and Walker just a lowly sophomore backup.

Now, everything has changed.

Walker will enter the season as the undisputed starter for the Bears. He took over late last season for Owen and spent this offseason in the weight room attempting to bulk up. Though he says an illness at the beginning of the summer limited his ability to put on wait, Walker enters preseason practice without any competition for the starting spot.

"He's improved a lot," Bears coach Cliff Lohrey said. "It was tough for him last year, but I think he understood the team concept behind it. But I know as an individual he wanted to play. Now, going through spring, going through summer, he knows he's the guy. Some people, when they know they are the guy, they slack off a little bit. Some people work harder, because they feel like they have to. He's the latter."

[Last modified August 4, 2006, 06:53:43]