NEW?MATAMORAS - The Cougars may have gone winless a season ago, but you couldn't tell by the attitudes of the players and coaches at practice Friday.
"We're ready to rock and roll," said senior lineman Kris Comstock. "We want to show everyone what Frontier football is all about."
"We've forgotten about last year," senior tailback/linebacker Taylor Merckle added.
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JORDAN HOLLAND The Marietta Times
Frontier head football coach Todd Bradford, center, instructs his Cougar defense in a practice on Friday.
Frontier head coach Todd Bradford is happy with how the first week of official practices has gone so far. There is a lot of optimism for the upcoming season.
"So far, so good," Bradford said. "This is our first day in gear. We're learning the fundamentals and techniques right now."
"The kids have worked hard as an entire unit," Bradford said when asked if certain players stood out in practice. "We're well-balanced and doing well in all phases. We're experienced enough. We have football smarts. We have pretty much everyone back from last year. I think we're doing some good things."
Comstock and Merckle join quarterback/free safety Jordan Jefferson and wide receiver/linebacker Eddie Salazar as the senior captains this year.
"Last year wasn't the best," Jefferson said. "We're gonna show everyone we're ready to play."
As far as the offense goes, Jefferson believes progress is being made.
"I think everyone is catching on," Jefferson said. "We've still got work to do though."
Jefferson, in his first year playing football in high school, was the team's lone All-PVC selection last season. Jefferson completed 65 passes in 144 attempts for 1,084 yards, in addition to 80 yards on the ground.
Salazar, likely to be Jefferson's number one target this fall, likes what he has seen from the team so far in practices.
"The linemen are running great and hustling every play," Salazar said. "The running backs are running hard. The receivers are hustling. We're ready to go. Last year was not the greatest, but we've put it behind us."
Bradford said he has tried to adjust the practice schedule to deal with the grueling weather.
"We've been trying to beat the heat, so we had 'em out here at 7 a.m. this morning," Bradford said. "At the same time we try to keep 'em in it for a little while to get 'em acclimated to it."
The players all agreed that the heat has not been more than they can handle.
"You've just gotta be tough and fight through it," Comstock said.
Merckle agreed, and added "We get water after every station. It's been hot, but not too bad. I've seen it worse."
