Larry Tucker

This week finds Wood County football teams getting their first taste of actual contact against someone other than a teammate.

It’s time for pre-season scrimmages. Scrimmages are glorified practices in a game situation form. They provide coaches a good way to determine how far along their teams are in the early stages of workouts and just how far they need to go to get ready for district openers.

Usually by the second scrimmage, teams will play game-like conditions with a clock. Normally, every player will get an opportunity to show coaches what they can do against competition other than their own teammates.

As a coach, I looked forward to scrimmages so the kids could finally unwind and hit somebody other than a buddy on their own team. Scrimmages can get pretty competitive and you will see a lot of hard-hitting action. Players are trying to impress their coaches and prove to them why they need to be on varsity or why they are the ones to play a certain position.

You try your best to stay away from injuries especially this early. In the smaller schools just having enough kids out for football is sometimes a key to the season. Quitman has had up to 47 players so far this year and Winnsboro had about 60. Mineola’s numbers should be in the range of 55 to 60 with Alba-Golden and Hawkins in the 50-player range.

The ’Jackets got no favors from UIL realignment, pitting them against the likes of Gladewater, Tatum, West Rusk and White Oak, but Coach Luke Blackwell will have his team ready. Pre-season games against 4A schools Wills Point, Canton and Farmersville will be good tests for Mineola. They also play Class 2A DI school Big Sandy – a team on playoff runs the past few years under Head Coach Larry Minter’s guidance.

At times last year, Quitman would have 18 or 19 kids suited out while most of the district teams suited up 30 or more. That’s no excuse for losses and Quitman’s Bryan Oakes, along with coaches and players, make no excuses. They know the task before them and they accept it. I’m just saying in 3A Division II, the numbers should be close to the same and it makes a big difference when it comes to team depth charts. Those numbers take on even more importance in the last half of the season when the injury bug and sometimes grades, diminishes original numbers.

Some teams have to get ready quickly because they have moved to larger districts. Quitman and Alba-Golden will each have just three games prior to district play. The Bulldogs and Panthers have moved into District 10-3A DII where there are eight teams, giving them just three games to prepare for the district slate.

Quitman will host cross-county rival Hawkins in a scrimmage this Thursday evening while the Panthers travel to Tyler to go up against All Saints. On August 24 Quitman travels to Como-Pickton and Alba-Golden will host a Kemp team that went deep into the 3A DI playoffs last year. Mineola and Winnsboro will each have four games to get ready for district races. This Friday, Mineola will entertain a tough Malakoff squad and then on August 24 the Yellowjackets will host Caddo Mills.

Winnsboro will host a scrimmage with their neighbors down Highway 11 from Como-Pickton this Friday and on Aug. 23 the Red Raiders will travel to Hooks to take on the Hornets.

Hawkins is in a six-team district which leaves them with five non-district and five District 10 2A DI games. After playing the Quitman scrimmage Friday, next week the Hawks will go to Frankston before opening their season at Alba-Golden Aug. 31.

Volleyball teams are already into their schedules with a lot of good competition in Tuesday night games and weekend tournaments. This week finds Alba-Golden traveling to Class 4A Brownsboro while Quitman goes to Class 5A Pine Tree and Hawkins girls will be at the West Rusk tournament. Mineola will be headed to Eustace for a tournament against some of East Texas’ top squads.

Many area schools will be sending volleyball ninth graders and junior varsity teams to play in a sub-varsity tournament in Quitman Saturday.

Most of the area cross country teams are in training and the meets will begin the last week in August continuing through October and into early November for district, region and state meets.