Alexander coach Earich Dean hopes he’s prepared the Spartans for one of their most challenging seasons of football.
On Friday, Alexander starts its season at home against Tri-Valley Conference rival, Athens. And the road to the season opener has been unlike any that’s come before.
With the season in jeopardy before summer started due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dean was not sure if, or when, he would be given the permission to run practices with the team. Once he finally got the OK, Dean had to make sure that the Spartans were following the guidelines so practices were as safe as possible.
“We take temperatures at the beginning of every practice,” Dean said in an email. “We run our practices in 15 minute sessions so that kids can sanitize their hands. Masks are required once they take their helmets off. This is all new to us, but our kids have made the changes and now it’s the new norm.”
With all the change the pandemic brought this season, Alexander also lost 13 seniors to graduation — most notably quarterback Kaleb Easley, who also led the team in tackles the past two years.
Alexander graduated its top receivers and the starting running back, so its offense will have a brand new look when it takes on the Bulldogs in the season opener.
In last season’s match-up against Athens, the Spartans entered the game with a 3-0 record, rolling in their non-conference schedule, while the Bulldogs struggled before that game, having a 0-3 record to that point. Despite that, Athens ended picking up the 28-6 win, beating Alexander for the fourth year in a row.
With limited practices this summer and only one scrimmage, the opener against Athens will be the true showcase of what the Spartans are capable of this season.
And then after the Athens game? Well, Alexander’s next scheduled game is a bus trip to Wellston on Sept. 11. But considering how tentative high school football is right now in Ohio due to the pandemic, Dean and the Spartans cannot focus on what may or may not happen this season.
“We have no control of what the school, governor’s office or the OHSAA will do,” Dean said. “So we are doing everything that is asked of us to make sure we give ourselves an opportunity to play another week.”
Knowing how uncertain the future of this season is weighs on Dean’s mind. He wants his seniors to play in their final season, and to do that, he has to make sure the team and the staff, himself included, are being smart about the choices they make, both while working towards the season, and away from the field.
There is not a lot Dean can do outside of the field, but on it, he’s working hard to make sure his team stays ready, no matter what happens during this season.
“Our goals are simple, get better every practice and play each game like it’s our last.”
tj932016@ohio.edu
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