Practice makes perfect

FB camp begins: Blue and Gold game on Friday

Head coach Ray Rook gives directions during fall practice at Del Norte High Tuesday afternoon. For more photos, go to triplicate.com/photos. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The 2011 edition of the Del Norte Warrior football team has put the pads on once again this week.

More than 70 kids are taking part in two-a-days each weekday at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. in anticipation of the season opener Sept. 2 at home against Hidden Valley, Ore.

“Things are going good, but not great yet,” second year varsity head coach Ray Rook said on Tuesday. “But I like the progress they have made so far.”

The practice field was buzzing with activity Tuesday afternoon.

On one side of the field, coaches were working with the defense and with a number of freshmen, showing them what they needed to do to become true football Warriors.

In the middle of the field, the wideouts and tight ends were busy running routes and catching balls, while at the end of the field, running, blocking and quarterback  play was being worked on.

One of the players catching the pigskin was senior wideout Lakey Coney, who recently moved here from Barstow.

Coney said that it’s a great football atmosphere at Del Norte and he has already learned a lot in his short time here.

Senior Austin Moore, above, runs with the ball during practice on Tuesday. The Warriors football team began fall practice on Monday.

Rook said that many of the kids took part in summer workouts and two football camps and have put in the effort to be good football players and gel as a cohesive squad.

“I’ve been pleased with the kids and their dedication to what we’re doing here,” Rook said.

One of those that has been part of offseason workouts is junior Lane Reichlin.

“It really helped me know the offense and defense well,” he said.  These summer workouts and camps helped him know what is expected of him and gave him a head start heading into the season, Reichlin said.

Fans will get a chance to see the Warriors for the first time this season Friday with the annual Blue Gold football scrimmage, which begins at 5 p.m. at Mike Whalen Field.

 “Our intention of this scrimmage is to give the players the feel of a game night atmosphere and to give parents and the community a chance to preview (the) 2011 Warriors,” Rook said.

He said that there will be a slight twist to the scrimmage festivities this year.

They are asking fans to bring Gatorade as admission. This is to make sure the team will be well stocked with the needed substance this year and saving money by people donating to the cause. Even if they don’t bring Gatorade, Rook said that’s OK –– he just wants as many fans as possible “to come out and support the team. It will be fun.”

Another difference is that instead of doing a junior varsity scrimmage and a varsity scrimmage separately, it will be done all at once. The teams will rotate each series. Before, the JV team went out first, followed by the varsity team.

To Rook, JV and varsity are not seperate teams, but instead, they are part of one team and are all Warriors. This extends to Del Norte Youth Football as well, he said.

Last season, Del Norte went 4-7 overall, upset rival Eureka, and made the playoffs.

Rook said a key part of the camp is to work on their conditioning so they won’t get exhausted when they play their first game of the year

“We want to make sure they can execute every play 150 percent,” he said,