By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

It was a change of pace for the Callaway Cavaliers.

The Callaway Cavaliers shared the field with Villa Rica and Newnan on Tuesday for a padded camp, and the teams went at it for two hours.

It was the first padded camp of the summer for the Cavaliers as they prepare for a season that kicks off on Aug. 17 against Opelika.

“I feel like today was productive,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said. “I feel like we still have a long way to go to get where we need to be. But there were a lot of positives from it. We competed against two really good football teams in Newnan and Villa Rica. Both of those schools are large schools with depth. So I feel like it was good for us.”

There were limits to the contact, and Wiggins talked with the other coaches before the camp about what was expected.

Basically, once contact was made a play was over, and no one was driven to the ground.

“We meet before, and we knew we were going to have a quick whistle,” Wiggins said. “You want to get better, and that’s the goal, but you sure don’t want to get anybody hurt. So there’s quick whistles, and we try to take care of the kids.”

Despite that, it was still a significant change of pace from the seven-on-seven competitions that are so prevalent during the summer.

“There’s a lot more physicality with the padded camp,” Wiggins said. “It’s more realistic than the seven-on-sevens. I think it presents a good opportunity to see how physical kids can be, and how they’re going to run to the ball, and how they’re going to react when they get hit. So I think it was a great morning for all three teams.”

The camp gave Callaway’s two quarterbacks, Jacob Freeman and Demetrius Coleman, an opportunity to show what they could do.

Freeman also worked at wide receiver, and he caught a touchdown pass from Coleman.

“Our kids ran around well, so we got better this morning,” Wiggins said. “We still have to get a couple of guys in the right places, and keep getting better every day.”

Those same three teams will get together again on Thursday in Newnan for another padded camp.

Next week, Callaway will hold its annual ironman competition, and official preseason practice begins on Aug. 25.

Callaway will visit Starr’s Mill for a preseason game on Aug. 10 before opening the season two weeks later against Opelika.

“Each day is a progress,” Wiggins said. “Each day it’s a let’s get better attitude. Let’s get better than we were yesterday. You have to fight from staying the same. Each day you have to come out, and there has to be a commitment to excel. I feel like our staff does a great job pushing the kids.

“There’s an expectation when we go in the weight room or when we go on the field that we’re going to get better, and we’re going to challenge ourselves. And I’m proud of this group.”