VERNON, Ala. — The Lamar County High School football team took its first road trip well before its first game.
The Bulldogs conducted a week-long training camp at Tombigbee State Park in Tupelo. A later start date for the school calendar allowed the team to spend the week in seclusion and to work on teamwork, chemistry, and fundamentals.
“It was all about football, 24 hours a day,” Lamar County sixth-year coach Ken Adams said. “We practiced a couple of times a day. We spent a lot of time together, coming together as a football team. We talked about goals. We talked about expectations. We talked about what type of football team we wanted to be.”
Lamar County returns 15 starters, including 10 on offense. A year ago, the Bulldogs finished 6-5 and lost to Lineville 50-23 in first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 2A state playoffs.
The Bulldogs improved throughout the season and returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence.
“We missed the playoffs (in 2010) because of a tiebreaker,” Adams said. “It was great we played our way in last season. This was great for our team and our community. Each team begins the season with the goal of making the playoffs. With a little more experienced team this season, we are ready to take the next step.”
The Bulldogs secured the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 4 a season ago. Now, a healthy dose of returnees and talented newcomers will try to challenge for the top spots in the region and a potential first-round playoff game at home.
The season opener will be at 7 p.m. Friday against archrival South Lamar in Millport, Ala.
“We will have a lot of speed,” Adams said. “On offense, our skills position players are basically back. We will be moving some people around on the offensive line. On the defense, we will have more new faces. We have a lot of players go both ways, so we have to find a way to put these players in their most comfortable positions.
“We are looking for some combinations. However, it is good we have a lot of positions settled. A lot of the spring and the fall have been trying to building on our strong finish from last season.”
Junior quarterback Dallas Cockerham (6-foot, 175 pounds) and sophomore Alex Wheeler (5-9, 165) will lead the offense from the quarterback and running back positions, respectively. Cockerham had 1,000 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns last season. Wheeler ran for 265 yards and three touchdowns.
Running primary out of an option set, other key offensive players include tailbacks freshman Bryce Miles (5-9, 165) and sophomore Tim Harton (5-8, 165), as well as blocking backs senior Tyler Sprouse (5-10, 250), senior Kendall Smith (5-9, 210), junior Ryan Barham (5-9, 152), sophomore Ty Herrion (5-9, 150), and senior Briggs Roberts (5-8, 150). Wingbacks include junior Ty Waldon (5-9, 170) and sophomore Dyshun Williams (5-9, 155).
“I think the offense is going to be a lot better this year,” Wheeler said. “For the most part, we have played together for one or two years now. We had some good games last year. Now, we just have to be more consistent. We are working on finding some more linemen. We don’t have a lot of depth there.
“We are excited. I think this is going to be the year we turn the corner and become a pretty good team.”
Returning offensive linemen include junior guard Joshua Smith (5-9, 160) and sophomore right tackle Braxton Hollis (5-11, 260).
“We are looking for a few more linemen,” Adams said. “We have some talented players competing for those spots. It is just a matter of getting them some game experience.”
As a sophomore, Cockerham grew more comfortable in the offense and emerged as a threat running and throwing the ball.
Still, consistency was an issue. Lamar Count beat South Lamar and Sulligent, but it scored only six points in each of those victories.
Defensively, five starters return. Adams calls the defensive line as a fluid situation. Herrion and Barham return at linebacker, while Harton, Miles and senior Brandon Walker (5-9, 150) are in the secondary.
“We need to make some strides on the defensive side of the ball,” Adams said. “We have to eliminate the big plays. We played well between the tackles but gave up too many game-changing deep balls.”
Realignment has shifted Lamar County from Region 8 to Region 4. New region rivals include Sulligent, Cold Springs, Oakman, Aliceville, Marion, R.C. Hatch, and Hale County.
Strides to take on that competition took place two ad a half miles deep in the woods.
“The players practice together, ate together and stayed in dorms together,” Adams said. “Each morning, the kids walked from the dorms to the cafeteria to the practice fields. This was a unique situation where we could spend the entire week focusing on football and nothing else.”
The final two days of the week at Tombigbee were when AHSAA schools could practice in pads. Those final practice sessions were intense and grueling, and players and coaches feel like they are better for that experience.
“It was a fun week,” Wheeler said. “I think it brought us together as a team. Even though we are a still a young team, we have a lot of leaders on this team. Everybody has been working hard and is excited about getting started. We feel like we can compete with the teams on schedule week in and week out.
“I am looking forward to this. We are ready to play some games.”
Tim Bobbitt (quarterbacks/linebackers), Charles Brock (secondary), Justin Land (defensive coordinator), Kellen Nabors (receivers), and Don Thornton (line) will work as assistant coaches.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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