Summer football: Working through heat, chemistry vital during 7-on-7 scrimmages

Perspiration is preparation for area football teams.

The official start of the season is Aug. 1, but area teams are getting ready with a flurry of 7-on-7 activities.

Football teams have embarked upon 7-on-7s for a few weeks, with a trio of area teams — John Glenn, Maysville and Philo — part of a six-team contingent on Tuesday at Muskingum's McConagha Stadium.

New Lexington hosted perennial powers Bloom-Carroll, Parkersburg (West Virginia) and Parkersburg South, along with Bexley, Heath and Zanesville, on Wednesday at Jim Rockwell Stadium.

The Blue Devils, under first-year coach T.J. Carper, returned for another scrimmage in a triangular on Thursday at West Muskingum.

Temperatures soared well into the 90s on Tuesday and still sat in the high 80s on Wednesday. Teams fought through it, however, as camp is just two weeks away.

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Getting acclimated

The heat gets dialed up in July and August, but this has been a particularly hot and dry summer in the Muskingum Valley, with 16 days of at least 90 degrees since June 1, per meteorologist Ben Gelber of NBC4.

It is actually a positive for players, however. It allows them to adjust before official practice begins on Aug. 1, something the Ohio High School Athletic Association calls "acclimation days."

"You're going to face hot days so this is a good chance for our guys to adapt and get used to it," Philo coach Dirk Lincicome said. "We want our guys to go as hard as they can, while doing it safely. If we notice a drop off, then the next guy needs to be ready for his opportunity."

Maysville coach Craig Clarke, who has been around football since the days when trainers handed out salt tablets for replenishment, echoed his neighboring rival. When it comes to being prepared, he has all but seen anything heat can offer.

"It's hot, so you have to learn how to get acclimated and handle the weather," Clarke said. "We talk about hydration and how to prepare for the conditions. The guys need to learn and understand what it's going to take to work through it."

There is a fine line between acclimation and stubbornness, however.

Danger lurks

New Lexington coach Kevin Board knows it all too well.

The Williamstown, West Virginia, native was a junior wide receiver at West Liberty University in the 2010s when he suffered a heat stroke in practice.

"We were in 2-a-days," Board recalled. "We always started out camp with 17 or 20 receivers, then inevitably guys started falling. ... There wasn't a lot of break and we threw it around a lot in college. I woke up in a hospital and had an IV in both hands and my arm."

Board said friend and teammate Clay Beeler likely saved his life that day. Beeler, a member of the West Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame, is currently the head coach at Chillicothe Huntington.

"He came over to me and I was doubled over," Board said. "He had some water and squirted me, asked if I was alright. I fell back and had flashes, and they took me off the field and got me under a tent, put ice under me. Then I got too cold and started shaking. They took me inside to get me warmed up, and from there to the hospital I don't remember.

"Stupidly, I tried to get back out in a week and nearly passed out again," Board added. "I had to go through a bunch of protocols to try to get back."

He has struggled with long-term heat exposure since. His Panther teams have always practiced in the mornings because it is cooler, but also because he can't take the afternoon heat exposure like he could prior to the stroke.

It has also made him even more diligent when it comes to monitoring his players. Between he and veteran trainer Sarah Abelseth, they ensure the players are in lockstep with national protocols for heat-related injury prevention.

"In practices we've got water breaks planned throughout," Board said. "During their individual periods the coaches always give them an extra one on top of that. Heat is nothing to play with. I lived it. In an hour-and-a-half of practice we probably plan in four or five water breaks."

Coaches, trainers preach preparation

Board said he emphasizes hydration and proper diet on the players' own time. That has been mentioned even more frequently this week with the Perry County Fair taking place, Board said.

Many players will enjoy the less-than-healthy cuisine, most of which isn't conducive for football players trying to protect their bodies.

"You've got to make sure you're putting in what you're losing, on top of all of the nonsense you're putting into your body," Board said. "You just have to keep talking about it. Some of them take it in, some of them don't."

Among Abelseth's many duties is to monitor the temperature on the stadium's FieldTurf, with a rubber-based surface that can reach well into the 100s during peak hours in the mid-summer months.

"Anytime the (air) temperature is a certain amount, usually 70-plus, I will start checking it," Abelseth said. "When we go into the caution area of the heat index, that's when I will fill up the ice tub and have ice ready."

Abelseth said athletic trainers use WetBulb Globe Temperature to measure the level of heat danger. WBGT measures heat stress of direct sunlight by factoring in temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover, which differs from traditional heat index.

When the WBGT reaches a certain point on the field, teams are limited as to how much equipment can be worn during a practice. Part of the protocol for preventing heat-related illness is by practicing in the mornings, Abelseth said.

She said there have been few scares in workouts so far, aside from some cases of dehydration. Once her yearly equipment order arrives, she will be using cooling cloths on the sidelines for football and soccer when the heat index reaches precautionary levels.

She echoed that most dangerous situations can be prevented by athletes simply being prepared in advance.

The shows must go on

Lincicome and Clark said 7-on-7s, at least for the backs, receivers and pass defenders, offer competition against other opponents that build team chemistry.

Tuesday was the first time Philo and Maysville saw different squads, while John Glenn, led by veteran coach Matt Edwards, was taking part in its second one of July.

All three are taking stock in what they have. Lincicome has several offensive weapons, such as quarterbacks Jack Lincicome and Talon Preston, running back Talan Bailey and track extraordinaire Aidan Mahon.

The passing scrimmages offer the coaches a chance to experiment with players in different roles.

"Most importantly, I want to see who wants to compete," Lincicome said. "It's important to show up at practice and in the weight room, and that shows their commitment. You want to see what happens when guys get beat or make a mistake. You want to see how they bounce back. It also reveals our weaknesses, shows where we need work."

Clarke had similar sentiments with several first-year starters, particularly on offense. Among those he lost is Wesley Armstead, the team's top receiver in 2023.

"We're inserting and installing some things, but mostly, we want to see who gets after it and competes," he said. "It's also a good chance to learn from mistakes. We want our guys to focus on getting better each day."

Building Chemistry

Wednesday's 7-on-7 tournament was the second at The Rock. New Lex hosts another next Wednesday, exposing Board's veteran skilled players to as much outside competition as possible before the pads crack in August.

Veteran Isaiah Stephens is the top passer returning in the Muskingum Valley League's Small School Division after establishing new school records for yards and touchdowns in 2023. With a horde of pass-catchers returning, namely veteran Bentley Hanson and running back Carson Kellogg, the scrimmages give he and backup Lane Ratliff a chance to fine tune.

It also allows new weapons like wrestling standouts Harrison Ratliff and Tyson Spicer, who made a pair of dazzling catches in the consolation finals against Zanesville, a chance to build chemistry with the quarterbacks.

In the Blue Devils' case, it offered first-year quarterback Maddox Mohler a chance to do the same with a handful of new faces on the perimeter as Carper installs a new offense. Many were also in the secondary.

"We're getting what we want," Board said. "We're getting big reps against other teams' (first stringers). Here in a couple of weeks when we put the pads on we'll see what we can do up front."

The games also allow players to get reacquainted to the system and each other. John Glenn brings back several starters, but there is value to the 7-on-7 showdowns.

"Offensively, it's a chance for your quarterbacks and wide receivers to develop chemistry. You get to run your pass game, knowing you will need it at some point on Friday nights, while the receivers can also work on their route running," Muskie coach Matt Edwards noted. "It's also a chance for your defense to work on communication. You want to make sure guys are in the right spots.

"It's also a chance to build that camaraderie again and develop depth going into 2-a-days."

Having experienced players can help a team, but John Glenn senior Lincoln Gilcher knows the importance of dedicating yourself each time you take the field.

"We take every day seriously. I'm working on my pass catching out of the backfield," he said. "We have a lot of guys with three and four years of experience. We know how to push each other, but also how to get everyone ready for the season. It comes down to playing hard and giving it your all at each practice."

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

bhannahs@gannett.com; X: @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Summer football: Working through heat, chemistry vital during 7-on-7 scrimmages