Bracken Warriors Prepare for the 2014 Season

Warriors taking a break during practice.

Fall football practice has begun and that long wait now becomes shorter as Bracken Christian began practice this past Monday.

“This year our second day of practice was better than our first day,” Head Coach Lloyd Fields said. “Many times your second day is a fall off and this is the best second day of practice in a while for Bracken.”

Six-Man football has critical dates and one of those times is that first day when Coaches can see if enough boys will show up in order to see they will have enough players for a team.

Yes, there was some Junior no shows that were present for Spring practice 3 months ago, but luckily, BCS also had some new faces also in attendance.

“We have a lot of young kids doing a lot of learning,” Coach Fields continued. “But we have some players like our wide receiver (Freshman Christian DeLeon) looking like our next RJ Braune.”

Braune still holds the single season best for receiving yardage in Coach Fields first year at BCS.

Braune would be top in more of those receiving stats, but in those first two years there were no stats documented. Simple math would tell you Braun would hold almost all of the receiving marks if those stats were known.

For that 2008 season, Braune finished with 40 catches for 1067 yards and 17 touchdowns. Only Grant Granato with his 47 catches in 2010 tops any of those single season marks.

Newcomer Joshua Chu and Sophomore Seth Smith are all smiles after practice.

You will remember those days when you started seeing friends after classes ended and many times those new faces had changed with classmates growing and having a different stature.

Bracken will also welcome players like Joshua Chu who transferred to BCS and will be playing football for his first time ever.

“Coach asked me to come out and play,” Chu said. “All the players are nice and are helping me out.”

Diamonds in the rough is what you see in all of these players wondering what there story might become as this season unfolds.

“I have never played before in my life,” Chu reiterated. “But, I will have fun and work hard and I think we can win.”

Those variables are all embodied as the new school year beckons and Sophomore Seth Smith is certainly in this category.

“I did not recognize him when he first walked through the door,” Coach Fields recalled.

Smith played Center and Defensive End last season, but was not really counted on for much of last season.

“I ran and hit the weights hard,” Smith lifted. “I did not feel like I performed last year and just wanted to be better for the team and be usable.”

On what he expects to see this year, Smith was not shy with his comeback, “Our team looks great and I just want to work hard and play for God and each other….my goals would be to play for God first and be the best I can be…the sky is the limit.”

The Warriors had some stalwarts who played integral roles last season back and that leadership will be counted on to bring the young players up to a higher standard.

Noah Boriack and Jeff Camp are two of those players that were new last year and returning as Seniors with a chance of improving on last year’s season.

“We have a good solid foundation,” Camp staked his tent. “We are just one player short.”

Camp will also be called upon for kicking this year taking Preston Koch’s job from last season. “First time kicking a field goal, I just don’t need to over think it and just keep it simple.”

Boriack will be called upon for more action on the defensive side of the ball this season, as having some Juniors not showing up this year, makes players responsible for other positions.

“With Brady (Beene) as quarterback we will have a lot more passing and that should give me some rest on the offensive side.”

Bracken has moved down a division which should help with playing teams similar in number of players on the sideline.

Another Senior, Coy Zunker who finished last year with an injury, will also help buttress a defense with some timely interceptions and tackles.

“We are good,” Spark plug Zunker started. “We have players that like to play the ball and the intensity is there….we just have to get down and dirty.”

Sophomore Brady Beene will be the QB for this team and he should be homing his passing skills for what could be a promising three year stint taking snaps.

A Six-Man football team, many times is only as good as how many players are standing on the sideline.

With each game an injury here or there will eventually sink a ship if there are not enough players to help fill those positions and the quality of competitiveness staying on an even keel.

So, bonding in ways to become one unit becomes an important part of how a team will perform when the players strap on that helmet for their first game.

New faces and old faces will hopefully bond during this time as Bracken works on a campaign that will result in another Warrior successful season.