The early preseason has been a time for the Bobcats to let it fly.
Gilmer High was in Towns County last Thursday for its latest seven-on-seven passing event. In addition to GHS and the host Indians, Johnson and Oglethorpe County were in attendance.
Seven-on-seven competitions give teams an opportunity to hone their passing game without the presence of linemen. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends square off against linebackers and defensive backs. Offenses attempt to score after starting at the defense’s 40-yard line.
“I challenged them to finish strong, like we obviously didn’t do last season a few times,” said head coach Paul Standard. “In the last two games at Towns we did well. I felt good because a lot of our inexperienced guys got a lot of reps out there.”
The Bobcats kept players as fresh as possible. While other teams substituted when needed, GHS had three offensive personnel groups, giving quarterback Issac Rellinger new targets each play.
“On the offensive side, we feel like we have several guys who can help us who are either young or inexperienced,” Standard said. “We rotated players every single play. There were times where we were getting ready to score, and the No. 3 guys were in. We wanted to compete to win, but we also wanted to get them experience.
“Defensively, we have some new guys in the secondary, and we needed to see how they were going to compete and make adjustments.”
Gilmer took the field for five 20-minute games and played each team twice with the exception of Towns.
“We got a great look at our guys and found out a lot as far as the ones who are ready and the ones who still need help in learning the offense. It’s great to get new seniors, but you can’t learn all the nuances in three weeks. I was pleased and thought Rellinger threw the ball well. Ryder Wofford made some nice plays and Hayden Morrison is having a great summer. Along with Ian Berry, they’ll probably be our top three receivers.
“Our skill guys in the back field are going to play defense, so we’ve got to have players who can rotate in at the halfback position for certain.”
Linemen also made the trek to Towns to compete in an obstacle course that tested strength, endurance and teamwork. The Bobcats finished second behind Towns, but Standard saw something he had yet to witness as he enters his third season at GHS.
“This was the first time I saw this out of the total team . . . the enthusiasm and excitement was almost jaw dropping for me. There are five events and a different player does each one. All 60 kids were going absolutely crazy from station to station, and that was just cool to see. We have never had that,” Standard said.
Gilmer also attended passing events at Union County in its first two weeks of June. Days when the Bobcats were not on the road began at 7 a.m. They lifted weights first, ate breakfast and then headed into position meetings.
The Cats spent time on the field, but its offensive, special teams and defensive activities were limited, per GHSA practice guidelines.
“June was really good,” Standard said. “We continued to install offense and defense as much as we could going against pads. Installing those schemes are critical because we’re only in full pads three or four days before our scrimmage against Commerce. We’re off to a great start, but still have a ways to go.”
Players will have nine days off before they return to the field. Much of July will mimic June’s activities ahead of the acclimation period to wear full pads toward the end of the month.