From staff reports

With the beginning of the prep football season nearing, schools are not only preparing on the practice field.

Last week marked the start of scrimmages for local teams. Some teams have yet to join in the action, but that will all change this week.

Thursday, the two Chattooga County schools, Trion and Chattooga, will make the trek up to Chattanooga, Tenn., to scrimmage.

The Trion Bulldogs have a new head coach and are ready to get on the field and see how their team looks against an opponent. Trion will kick off against Heritage at 6 p.m. at Finley Stadium.

“It’s time to see ourselves against somebody else,” Trion coach David Humphreys said. “We’ve been working pretty hard against ourselves. You kind of get numb to what you’re doing and you’re looking at a time to measure yourselves against other people.”

Following the Trion-Heritage game, Chattooga will get its shot to take the field, playing against Northwest Whitfield.

Chattooga head coach John Starr said he had mixed feelings about the game.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to play at UTC in that stadium,” he said. “To be honest, I’m real concerned about injuries leading up to the season. Regardless of the opponent, which is a physical team, I’m a little apprehensive on losing a key player in a meaningless game.”

Other scrimmages Thursday will see Cass take on Adairsville at the Tigers home field and Sonoraville will welcome Dawson County. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.

Cedartown and Darlington will face each other on the final Friday before the start of the season at 7:30 p.m. at Chris Hunter Stadium. Model will host Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe at the same time.