County foes share football field
Published 12:00 am Friday, July 22, 2016
HOGANSVILLE – They’re sprinting to the finish line.
The Callaway Cavaliers are putting the wraps on their summer program as they head into the official start of preseason practice on Monday.
Over the past two weeks, the Cavaliers have stayed busy.
They’ve attended camps at three different colleges, they’ve continued to hold their daily workouts at the school, they held their ironman competition this week, and on Thursday they participated in an 11-on-11 teamp camp with the Troup Tigers.
“We’ve had a busy two weeks,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said. “I feel like our kids have worked hard, and have prepared for this coming season.”
Last week, Callaway went to seven-on-seven competitions at Auburn University and West Georgia.
This week has been an even more hectic one for the Cavaliers.
On Monday and Wednesday, the players all took part in the annual ironman competition.
The players competed in events designed to measure them in a number of different areas including strength, speed and agility.
“It went really well,” Wiggins said.
Sandwiched between the two ironman days was a trip to Kennesaw State on Tuesday for a team camp.
“The Kennesaw State camp was very good,” Wiggins said. “It was all day. Our kids had to really grind. It was hot on the sprint turf. We went against some really good football teams.”
The trip also gave the players and coaches a chance to catch up with two former Cavaliers who are playing at Kennesaw State.
Pedy Leverette (wide receiver) and Brandon Sutton (offensive lineman) will both be redshirt sophomores for the Owls this season.
Sutton played in two games last season, and Leverette played in all 11 games in the Owls’ inaugural season.
On Thursday, Callaway was back home for the team camp with Troup.
It was the second time this summer the two teams got together.
Troup hosted Callaway for an 11-on-11 camp in June, and a month later they were together again, this time on Callaway’s practice field.
“I thought it was a good atmosphere today,” Wiggins said. “Our kids had a lot of energy, and I think Troup’s guys had a lot of energy. I think we both got better. It was good reps on both sides of the ball.”
Monday marks the first official day of practice for teams in the state according to the Georgia High School Association calendar.
Teams can hold their first full-contact practice on Aug. 1 after the week of acclimation.
“Monday starts acclimation. It’s coming fast,” Wiggins said. “So, we just have to keep working, and getting better.”
Callaway will play a preseason game in Hogansville against Northside-Columbus on Aug. 12, and it will open the regular season on Aug. 19 against LaGrange.
The Cavaliers are coming off another successful season under Wiggins.
Callaway went 10-2 last season and won a region championship and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot of holes to fill from last year, but we’re excited about our effort, and I’m excited about our kids’ attitude, and we’re just trying to get better each day,” Wiggins said.
Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports