Gilmer High School football fans will get a glimpse of the new-look Bobcats when they scrimmage Fannin County Friday.
The matchup comes after a spring and summer under head coach Paul Standard, who took over the program in January.
The Bobcats started voluntary offseason training June 7. Aside from the GHSA’s mandated dead week, they have been in the weight room and on the practice field for seven weeks.
“We had three weeks in July after the dead week and then we had minicamp (last) week, so we’ve had a busy July,” Standard said. “Our kids have done a really fine job this summer, and I’m real pleased with how the kids have responded to our staff and to what we’re trying to get done in terms of how we’re doing things. Slowly but surely, they’re getting better at that.”
Last week’s minicamp included team meetings and practices. The five days were used as the GHSA’s “acclimation” period, which every player had to complete before they were permitted to wear full pads.
Prior to minicamp, the Bobcats met for 23 “team days,” which consisted of morning weight training followed by practice.
“The biggest thing in July was to get everything introduced that we might possibly do this year on both sides of the ball,” Standard said. “During minicamp, the main focus was to get all of our special teams installed, as well as continuing the instillation of our offense and defense, and we’ve done that. From that standpoint, it’s not game ready, but it’s all been introduced and installed.”
Standard has also focused on off-the-field aspects such as building camaraderie and team unity.
“The booster club fed us at the end of each practice last week and they have been phenomenal,” Standard said. “We took the juniors and seniors on an overnight trip (July 24) that I’d done for 20 years at Pius. We took them to a place about 40 miles north of us called Whitewater Express. We rafted and did some activities and it was really good.”
When school begins, all football players will be in the same weight training class. That has not taken place in recent seasons, and in some cases football players were not enrolled in weight training at all because of scheduling conflicts.
“Kudos to our administrators. Having all our players in the same weight class is a critical piece of the puzzle to build a culture of success,” Standard said. “In order to be successful, you have to have support in all directions. We have the community support, the administrative support and I met with the new superintendent (Dr. Brian Ridley) and he’s been super.”
Tradition takes a break for second-straight year
From 1956 through 2019, high school football teams from Gilmer and Fannin squared off on the gridiron. Gilmer owns a 39-27-2 overall edge in the series versus Fannin teams.
From 1956-1975, GHS faced West Fannin High while playing East Fannin four times over that span. East and West were consolidated and Gilmer started playing Fannin County High in 1976.
Following 68 meetings over 64 seasons, the game was canceled last year when Fannin had players exposed to COVID-19. When Gilmer scheduled Union County as a last-minute replacement, it locked GHS into a two-year contract, which meant an official game versus Fannin would not take place this season.
“We’re going to treat this like a regular game week as best we can,” Standard said. “Our staff met (last) Saturday to get prepared for the scrimmage. It’s going to be more about what we need to make sure we get covered and get on film as opposed to what Fannin does. We’ve got to prepare a little bit for that so our kids are prepared, but I’m way more concerned about us.”
The scrimmage will be played under live conditions aside from kickoff and punt returns. Time will be kept but the score will not, though Standard suspects most fans will be keep track.
The first half will be played mostly by those who are likely to see plenty of field time this season, according to Standard. By the third quarter, some reserves will start to make their way into the game, and junior varsity players will play the fourth quarter.
“The emphasis is on our kids. If we’re in a certain situation, well we might need to get a play on film that we need to see,” Standard said. “It might not quite exactly matchup with the down and distance (and play call) we would normally use. We’re going to play it as close to a real game as we can.”
Friday’s kickoff versus Fannin at Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 and football season passes will be available for $25 dollars. A complete pass for all sports during the 2021-2022 school year will be available at $75 for adults and $50 for students.