There is a bit of uncertainty to this week as much of southeast Georgia is dealing with the effects of Hurricane Debby.
Ware County head coach Jason Strickland and his staff were busy Sunday afternoon creating multiple plans dealing with a possible school closure to practicing inside due to conditions being predicted.
“This storm is affecting a lot of folks,” said the sixth-year head coach. “The goal of everyone is safety. Obviously what we (coaches) planned to do is being altered so we’re creating multiple plans.
“We could practice in the gym, but if the school is closed then we have no access. We may have to have zoom meetings with the players so we’re putting together power point lessons.
“We (coaches) have learned to be flexible over the past couple of years and not stress matters. All you can do is list the things you can control and not worry about the ones you can’t.”
The storm’s projected route across the southeast over to the Atlantic Ocean comes at a time when the Gators are preparing for a Friday night scrimmage against Brunswick High on the hallowed grounds of Memorial Stadium.
Strickland did say the game could be moved to Saturday if conditions warrant.
Brunswick, who went 7-4 in Garrett Grady’s second season after an 11-1 opening act in 2022, returns seven starters on offense and six on the defensive side of the ball.
Senior running back Jamarious Towns (5-foot-10, 160 lbs.), junior lineman Kasiyah Charlton (67, 295) and junior tight end Heze Kent (6-7, 265) are key returning offensive players.
Senior J’shawn Towns (5-10, 220) leads the defense unit from his inside linebacker position.
Ware County donned full gear last week following the mandated five-day acclimation period.
The two programs have not played each other on the gridiron since 2015 ending a 10-year run in the series. Ware County won each of the last five meetings from 2011-15.
“Last week was good,” said Strickland of being in pads. “We were able to lock horns and put some work in on the run game and with our pass protection. That’s really things you need to do with live action in pads.
“We also worked on defensive drills. There’s just some things which are hard to do when you’re not in pads.”
Strickland also said the week was heavy with special teams work.
The veteran coach was using this week to acclimate his squad, as well as coaches, to a regular game week ahead of the August 16 season opener at Class AA Appling County.
“We (coaches) are going to game plan and treat this like a regular game week,” said Strickland. “This is practice for our new coaches starting with Sunday’s meeting and breaking down film to formulate things we need know and what information to get to our players to help them understand our opponent.”
