Presenting: the preseason. Zephyrhills.

By IZZY GOULD, Times Staff Writer
Published August 22, 2007

Every day leading up to football season, we'll drop by each school in Hernando and Pasco counties and take a look at an area team's preparations for the fall. Log on to the Times' high school sports blog at blogs.tampabay.com/preps for daily updates on North Suncoast sports.

The setting: One of the classic practice fields in the North Suncoast where Spanish moss hangs from tall trees that offer little shade on the field. Of course, there's plenty of shade off to the side to cover tall buckets of water.

The date: Tuesday

The time: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The weather: Noticeably less humid, but local weather forecast says it felt like 100 degrees.

The atmosphere: Lots of teaching and lots of listening. Bulldogs coach Tom Fisher has a roster full of inexperience, and many of those kids have a shot at playing. Two weeks into the preseason, Zephyrhills is still explaining drills and demonstrating blocking techniques. The kids seem to absorb as much as possible.

The routine: From stretching, the Bulldogs broke into different groups. Quarterbacks practiced pitching to running backs, receivers caught passes from Fisher - he throws with his left - and the linemen do a drill where they sit on their knees and try to knock each other down.

Preseason star: Junior quarterback Lance Hayes has stepped into the No. 2 quarterback role to give sophomore Tyler Guy - already tabbed the starter - some competition. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Hayes has quick feet and a strong arm. Guy, at 6 feet 6 and 220 pounds, has a Division I body and a few more seasons to develop. "(Hayes) is doing a real good job," Fisher said. "He was a freshman quarterback, we moved him to receiver, and when we started looking at another quarterback, his name came up. ... He's pushing Tyler Guy pretty good."

Preseason surprise: A lot of new faces on the both sides of the line. Ries Morrison is a senior in for the first season after being home schooled. Fisher expects him to step in and be a starter on the offensive line. Cory Christiensen is a junior who didn't play last season and also will be on the offensive line. Deondrick Giles is a defensive line starter who didn't start last year. Austin Sommers came over from Lake Wales and will start at center.

Dreaded drill: Escape from Saigon. It's a four-corner drill in a 10-yard square. The whole team surrounds a defensive player, two offensive players and a "rabbit." The defensive player has 15 seconds to get to the runner and tackle him while the two offensive players defend the "rabbit." And they rotate so all four take turns at every spot. They run the drill at least once a week.

Three things we thought

1. The Bulldogs are young. Trying to pick out standouts will be tough until the Bulldogs play a game. They'll get their chance Friday when they host Freedom in a preseason classic.

2. There are some experienced players. One that comes to mind is senior lineman Quentin Amos, who has been a staple for the Bulldogs. He's still working hard to get back to football shape after a car accident almost took his left arm during the summer. "He's getting better every day," Fisher said. "He's got stuff he's still working on."

3. The receivers need to get healthy. Senior Josh Perkins (6 feet 6, 200 pounds) was a surprise in preseason camp until an injury sidelined him. He's still got a week or so before he can come back. And they could use him even more after Fisher moved senior Chris Henry from receiver to tailback.

[Last modified August 21, 2007, 22:22:40]