Published: August 20, 2008 10:49 am      

Area football teams ready to show skills during pre-season jamborees

At the point, most of the area football coaches are ready to get their football teams out on the field so they can see how much the hard work in the spring and summer has paid off.

While several area teams will be taking part in jamborees on Friday, Ethel High School will be hosting Meet the Tiger night and Winona Christian School will be kicking off its regular season with a road trip to Central Holmes Christian School.

For Ethel head coach Paul Dees and his Tigers, Friday will just be another night of work.

“We are going to get a lot out of it,” Dees said. “We will get a chance to scrimmage against ourselves and go through some game-type situations.”

While their will not be referees at the game, the Tigers will be decked out in their full uniforms.

“This is just a chance for our supporters to see what we have this year,” Dees said. One of the changes for the Tigers will be under center, as former tight end Hunter Dempsey will be taking the snaps. “We’ve come a long one. I’m looking forward to seeing how we perform.”

While the Ethel Tigers will be scrimmaging against themselves, the Tigers from Durant will be hosting a three-team jamboree.

“It will be complete game situations, including full-out special teams,” said first-year Durant head coach Ashley Kuhn. “We have been approaching this week as a game week. There has been a lot of enthusiasm so far.”

The action will begin at 6 p.m. with Durant taking on West Tallahatchie for a half. That will be followed by West Tally facing S.V. Marshall. The last two quarters of action will be between Durant and S.V. Marshall and is set to begin around 8 p.m.

“I’m just real pleased with what I’m seeing so far,” Kuhn said. “We have had a lot of retention from the spring, both in the number of players returning and them remembering what we taught them.”

The Tigers have been getting a lot of preseason attention and are considered by most to among the Top 10 Class 1A football teams in the state.

Kuhn says he’s not quite sure how he feels about that just now.

McAdams High School will be taking part in a jamboree at Sebastopol, while French Camp Academy has a scrimmage scheduled as well.