By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Exactly one month from today, the 2002 high school football season will kick off.
Hopefully the weather will be a little cooler by then.
Meanwhile, however, prep football drills across the state are beginning to heat up.
Most prep teams began practice this week including Forrest City, Palestine-Wheatley and Hughes.
The Mustangs met for orientation Monday and then held a morning and an evening practice.
"We had about 46 players on Monday," Forrest City Coach Donnie Willis said. "And the first day went just about as we had planned. We took it slow. The players who needed to be here, were here."
Willis said most of the returning seniors were on hand Monday but added he was a little disappointed with the number of sophomores.
"We are a little thin in that area," Willis said Tuesday morning. "Some may still need physicals and others may not be back in town yet but we need to have those sophomores out here."
One change which is very evident this season on the practice field revolves around the coaching staffs.
The junior high coaching staffs were on the sidelines Tuesday morning taking mental notes during the high school drills. Monday afternoon, Willis, along with seventh-grade football coaches Lewis Etheridge and Tommy Wheatley, sat and watched the two junior high teams practice.
"This is by design this year," Willis said. "We are all just trying to make sure we are on the same coaching page. The junior high coaches have been encouraged to watch our practices and likewise we will watch their sessions."
Forrest City will open against defending Class AAAA state champions Wynne on Sept. 6.
Both the Forrest City Blue and White Junior High Mustangs practiced for the first time Monday afternoon.
Blue Coach Rich Trail had about 22 players on hand for the first day of drills while White Coach Stan Siler had about 40 on hand.
"We still have some that haven't had their physicals yet and others who are still on vacation, so we expect our numbers to go up somewhat," Trail said.
The junior high teams begin their season on Thursday, Sept. 5.
This year the Blue and White Mustang teams will not play each other.
Likewise Hughes began their summer drills Monday, taking the field at 7:30 a.m. under Coach James Wright.
Wright's Blue Devils are the preseason pick to win the 3AA Conference.
The Blue Devils dropped down into Class AA this season after being a member of the 6AAA for the past few seasons.
In Jonesboro, the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane, picked to finish fifth in the AAAAA-East, began two-a-day practices Monday.
Jonesboro will begin its season at New Madrid County Central, Mo., on Sept. 6.
The Wynne Yellowjackets will begin their two-a-day practice sessions Wednesday morning.
The Osceola Seminoles, who move to the 3AAA this fall, began practice on Monday morning as well with a three-hour session. The Seminoles will play Forrest City on Sept. 20 at Sam Smith Stadium.
The Seminoles begin their season at Blytheville before returning home on Sept. 13 against West Memphis.
The Greene County Tech Eagles started conditioning practice Monday with an intense workout. The squad will begin its two-a-days next week.
"We have split workouts, half weights, half running," coach Pip Runyan said. "It is very intense. It's not for strength, but for endurance."
Runyan said his workouts are used to get his players over initial soreness and prepare them for the hot weather. Runyan was pleased with the team's first workout.
"We had a great workout tonight," Runyan said. "It's the best since I've been here."
In preparation for their season, which begins at home against crosstown rival Paragould, the Eagles have played in seven-on-seven scrimmages. The squad played at a round-robin session at Southeast Missouri State University last Saturday. Eight players returned on offense, while seven returned on defense.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
And now the battle is for second place in the adult men's softball league.
Last Thursday, Barnes Timber nailed down their 21st straight win and the league title with a win over M&T Paving.
The loss dropped M&T into a tie for third place with Sanyo and moved the Gym 2000 team into second place in the league standings.
Monday night, Gym 2000 broke open a tie ball game by scoring nine runs in the fourth inning to defeat TSM Computers 17-8.
M&T, meanwhile, put the hurt on Greg's, winning 12-1.
Sanyo fell to a suddenly hot Miller Insurance team, 5-3, giving Miller its fifth consecutive victory.
Gym 2000 maintains a slim lead over M&T in the battle for second place with two regular season games left to play.
Gym 2000 is 18-3 for the year and in second while M&T is 18-4 and holding on to third.
The two teams will go head-to-head Thursday at 8 p.m.
M&T will finish the year on Monday, Aug. 12, against Barnes while Gym 2000 will close out the year against Kerby's.
Sanyo slips to 17-5 and down to fourth while Kerby's, a 21-11 winner over Boar's Head Monday and the Bulldogs, 13-11 winners over the Young Guns, find themselves in a tie for fifth place. Both teams are 13-8.
In Monday's final game, Morgan handed Food Giant its 22nd straight loss, winning 24-10.
* CITY LEAGUES
ADULT SOFTBALL
Monday's Scores
M&T Paving 12, Greg's 1
Kerby's 21, Boar's Head 11
Miller Insurance 5, Sanyo 3
Bulldogs 13, Young Guns 11
Morgan 24, Food Giant 10
Gym 2000 17, TSM Computers 8