Mules football prepares for dead-period

Poplar Bluff Mule Colt Clifford breaks through the defense on Friday during drills before the Mules scrimmage.

DAR/D’Courtland Christian

With less than a month until opening night, the Poplar Bluff football team squeezed in one last practice before the MSHSAA dead period.

Head coach Jeff Mannon invited the community to an open workout at Mules Stadium on Friday to get a taste of what they may expect for the upcoming season. The varsity and junior varsity went head-to-head in a mild scrimmage as they looked to polish their scheme before the first kickoff.

Mannon said the team has been locked in since the first day of training and he’s happy to report that the numbers have stayed strong for most of the summer. As they inch closer to the season, he’s encouraged each player to keep working and progressing, and hopefully, they’ll be closer to reaching their goal of having everyone on one accord.

“We had a really successful scrimmage,” Mannon said. “ Everyone came out focused for the most part, and we didn’t have any injuries or anything so that’s always a positive. The great thing about this scrimmage is that we got to see what the kids can do outside of the training they’ve done all summer and it gives us some stuff to look at on film. All the guys were really excited to go in full motion. We’ll get the chance to break down the tape to see what we got, but the kids have been coming and working their tails off.”

A dead period in high school athletics is a regulation that restricts interaction between coaches and student-athletes, as well as other activities, for a predetermined amount of time. A dead time is intended to give players and coaches a break.

While Mannon supports the dead time, he acknowledges that it may be difficult for coaches to ensure that athletes are maintaining their conditioning and not letting their hard work fade after a week off. He urges the players to enjoy their time away from the field but hopes they remain focused on the abilities and training they've gained thus far.

“I understand why we need the dead period, but it's rough as a coach because we can't have contact with those guys throughout that time,” Mannon said. “I know it’s easy to lose everything they’ve had when stepping away, but we just try to emphasize the importance of staying disciplined. All programs have to do this so it’s an adjustment, but hopefully, we can keep this same momentum going once we're able to step back out on the field again.”

One player who’s excited to be back on the field is junior defensive lineman Kelvin Howard.

“It feels really good to be out on the field,” he said. “I feel like everyone has been doing better on both sides of the ball and if we can keep up the intensity, I believe we can be really good this year. As a defensive guy, my goal is to get after the quarterback, cause some fumbles and get stops. The key for us this season is to just stay locked in and not get knocked off by any distractions.”