But despite holding off until the last possible moment, the football team’s spring came to an abrupt and uneventful end as the annual intra-squad scrimmage was canceled just a few hours before its scheduled start.
Head coach Dan Duff and school officials made the call around 3 p.m. following heavy rains that had soaked the region since early Friday morning.
While the rain stopped shortly after the game was called off and blue sky peeked through the clouds later in the evening, the field’s condition and threat of more wet weather influenced the final verdict.
“We tried to postpone the decision as long as we could,” Duff said. “But the field is in bad shape and the city has other activities that they hold there and it would get destroyed if we played on it.”
The City of Rockmart’s recreation department now maintains the former home field of the Yellow Jackets as the city has moved its offices to the old high school campus on Piedmont Avenue.
It was the first time in recent memory that the event was canceled entirely.
“We had a great spring,” Duff said. “I wish we could play this game.”
Unfortunately, the Georgia High School Association mandates how long teams have for spring practice and Friday’s scheduled game would have come on Rockmart’s last possible day to hold drills this time around.
Summer conditioning will begin a week after school ends and players will not be allowed to take part in organized practices in helmets and pads again until Aug. 1.
Duff said the absence of a Black and Gold game was a disappointment but he and his staff hope that what they saw on the practice field during the two-week session has helped provide a foundation for next season.
“I wanted them to have fun and be a part of it,” Duff said. “We wanted to see how they responded to a game-type situation and how they competed, including the older guys.”
While experienced starters like quarterback Roshmel Young and lineman Josh Hatch return this fall, there are many new faces that will wear the black and gold on Friday nights as well.
“I’m excited about the team,” Duff said.
“We’re young and we’ve got a lot of young kids that need to step up and play for us. That’s just where we’re at,” he said.
“We’ve had a few do that this spring but we’ve also had a lot of guys come out with great attitudes and we’ve had a few surprises.”
Post a Comment