CORRECTION: The Santa Rosa Press Gazette incorrectly reported the Pace High School Football team will begin the 2015 football season against Crestview High School. However, the Patriots are scheduled to play at Choctaw High School on August 21 at 7 p.m. We are sorry for any inconveinance this error may have caused.
With the beginning of school on horizon including the beginning of the 2015 high school football season, the Pace High School Patriot football team continues to put in the necessary work during this week's practice at PHS. Since June, the Patriots have been busy with not only practicing at school but also participating in football camps. Most recently, the players participated in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Camp which took place in Georgia.
CLICK HERE: To view photos from the Patriots football practice at the school's practice field on Monday
“We have a good ways to go but we will get there for sure,” said Chandler Hinds, a senior defensive lineman. “We are coming together as team, working hard every day.”
His defensive teammate Rasean Meeks-Brunache agrees.
“I think we are doing pretty good,” he said. “I think we are getting better as the week goes on especially coming back from FCA.”
The PHS football coaching staff, led by Head Coach Mickey Lindsey, is working with players on both the varsity and freshmen squads this week working in preparation for the August 21, Kick-Off Classic on the road against Crestview High School.
Both Meeks-Brunache and Hinds say there is one key ingredient to winning against the CHS Bulldogs.
“We can definitely win, if we can play with intensity…and we will,” Hinds said. “The intensity is always there.”
“Once we get that intensity then we can do anything,” Meeks-Brunache said.
In addition to all of the practice and conditioning, another key aspect is team chemistry, said Ashton Stephens. Stephens, who plays quarterback for the Patriots, is approaching his junior year at PHS.
“As a team, we are really well together,” he said. “Coach Lindsey always talks about how this team has played together since we were young and will play together as we get older.” Stephens said it's the team's goal to build upon the work already completed during the offseason.
The Patriots will be practicing until Thursday of this week and team is expected to practice in full pads after next week, Stephens said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Patriots prepare for upcoming football season