Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
They may have been spread out a little more than usual, but the sweat, grunts and groans were still the same as the Madison County High School (MCHS) Cowboys football team was once more together for their annual voluntary summer workouts. Cowboy Senior Greg Mitchell summed up the sentiment of most of those braving the early summer heat and humidity. "This feels great," said Mitchell, who plays running back and linebacker. "This is a blessing to be back with my teammates, my brothers."
The new rules concerning social distancing has forced some changes in the summer conditioning workouts. "Because of this COVID mess, we've had to have more stations (each "station" is where the athletes work on a specific skill or exercise; such as running sprints, weight training, footwork drills, etc.) in order to maintain social distancing," said MCHS Head Coach Mike Coe. "That part has made it brutal. We've also had to bring in more coaches. The guys are looking good and they are eager to get after it."
Coach Coe has been fortunate to be able to bring in some highly qualified young men to work with the Cowboys. Ironhead Gallon was on hand to pass along his NFL and college playing experience before heading to Canada to play professional football for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League. "I had to come in and help while I was still in town, it wouldn't have been right not to," said Gallon. Another new face on the sidelines this year will be a familiar one to many Cowboy fans. Akevious "Fat Daddy" Williams was a star quarterback for the Cowboys before moving on to rack up impressive numbers as the quarterback for Bethune-Cookman College. Williams will be coaching receivers and tight ends in the fall while beginning his local practice as a physical therapist. Other former Cowboys coming back to work from the sidelines will be Eric Bright, Jr. and Zac Coe.
One primary reason for the tough summer schedule is to get the players into top physical condition before the season begins. Coach Coe has always placed a high value on being in better physical condition than the opponents across the field. Many times, this has paid big dividends in the fourth quarter of games. Coach Coe reminded the players of this at the end of the workout on Thursday, June 11. "You see that board over there (referring to the board listing all the playoff accomplishments of the Cowboys over the years)?" said Coach Coe. "There's a reason that board is full and other schools don't have that. Those schools are just as talented as we are. You remember what happened with that school from Clearwater last year? They came in here looking like the New York Jets. But by the time the fourth quarter came around, they were spent and we were still coming after them. They didn't know what to do with that. That's the reason we're out here right now."
The Cowboys are set to begin play on Friday, Aug. 14, with their pre-season Kickoff Classic against Wakulla High School and Taylor County High School, at Boot Hill Stadium. The first regular-season game is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 21, against Crescent City High School, at Boot Hill Stadium. As Mitchell put it, "It's our time."