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SPORTS
Kentucky teams get to work
Ethan Ross brings down a catch as the Boyd County football team runs through pass drills on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, at Boyd County High School.
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ASHLAND -- While high school football teams in West Virginia and Ohio are enjoying the last few weeks of summer break, Kentucky teams are busy getting to work.
The 2009 football season has started in the Bluegrass state and the regular-season opener is officially less than one month away.
Kentucky opening games are Aug. 21 and teams were officially cleared to practice on July 15. Ashland coach Leon Hart and Boyd County coach Lee Evans joked that the season was starting so early it even beat the July heat this year.
"I told them before practice that I don't know what type of praying they've been doing, but it's working for them," Evans said. "Not me. I pray for the hot weather to hit now to prepare us for a hot game."
All joking aside, while schemes were the focal point for both teams Wednesday morning, the weather -- or lack thereof -- was also of great concern.
"It's crazy," Hart said. "I think we have one day in the 90s in July so far. It reminds me of a couple of years ago when it stayed cool until we went to full pads and then it was so hot you couldn't practice because it was hovering around 100 degrees all the time.
"It's really hard in this weather to get your players acclimated to the heat. When it's cool this time of year, you can bet that opening ball game is going to be 90-plus degrees. We are going to have to do a great job of making sure people are ready."
On the field, both teams were busy getting acclimated to much different offensive packages than what were seen on the field last season.
Ashland is making a concerted effort to spread the ball out a little more. Boyd County's new-look offense is a bit more close-to-the-vest.
The next four weeks are especially crucial for Boyd County. The Lions have experience, but depth is a concern and the team only has one scrimmage to get right before opening Aug. 22 with a Saturday night contest against the Raceland Rams.
"Four weeks from Saturday, we play Raceland. We are going to be ready," Evans said. "We were talking (Tuesday) about how much better practice goes whenever you have experienced players. They lead and younger guys follow. We'll be ready."
Hart said he thinks his team is in prime position to make a solid run this year, thanks to the sweat put in from November to June.
"These kids do a lot of work -- I mean a tremendous amount of work -- from the end of the season until now," Hart said. "All of it is in preparation for the season. We've had a great offseason."
Hart said the amount of work put in by his team in the offseason translates to wins, and he's excited to get it started.
"We are like everyone else. We are undefeated right now and everyone is anxious to get going and find out exactly what we've got," Hart said.
While most Kentucky teams have already started practice, Russell does not open fall camp until Monday.
Practice in West Virginia and Ohio begins Aug. 3.
