Published: July 04, 2008 12:03 am            

Edmond teams shake things up at passing camp

The dog days of summer can get a little monotonous for high school football players anxious to hit the field. Several areas teams got a chance to shake things up, and get a taste for the upcoming season during passing camp at Edmond Santa Fe High School on Thursday night.

“It just gets you ready to go, it’s hot outside, the grass has been cut, it’s football season,” Edmond North coach Jeremy Dombek said.

North and Deer Creek joined host Santa Fe in the five-day event, which featured 10 schools from around the metro area. Among those present Thursday night were defending state champions Guthrie and Bishop McGuinness, Midwest City, U.S. Grant, Capitol Hill, Piedmont and Cashion.

The Huskies looked sharp in their second day of passing league action, despite playing without starting quarterback Cody Crabaugh. With the senior sidelined with mono, North got a glimpse of the future with sophomore Travis Townsend.

“Travis, our little sophomore, looked really good, he’s got a lot ability and he’s real young, that’s exciting,” Dombek said.

The North coach said he was pleased with the way his squad progressed since Tuesday, but knows there are plenty of loose ends to tie up.

“I thought our guys caught the ball better, we gave up some long passes, but that’s going to happen this type of setting,” Dombek said.

The Deer Creek squad showed some flashes of what is to come under new head coach Grant Gower. The Antlers, who are known for their strong running game, plan to open things up this fall.

“The passing league enables us to get route developments and to get route progressions to find the holes and the windows in zones that are there and our guys can work on that,” Gower said. “It’s all part of that process, because we’ll definitely spread the ball more.”

While the Huskies and Antlers had plenty of bright spots, Santa Fe squad may be the most polished at this point. Quarterback Michael Hodges looked very good and had no trouble hitting his Wolves receivers on a number of different pass routes. Cocannouer said he likes what he’s seen from the senior, and has been impressed with his progress since any injury riddled 2007 campaign.

“Last year Michael (Hodges) could not even go on the field at this time last year with his bad back, but he has shown a lot of improvement, and a lot of that is due to his confidence,” Cocannouer said.

“I played quite a bit last year, but it’s definitely nice to have all of it to yourself,” said Hodges, who split time at quarterback last year. “You can stay in a rhythm, you’re not going on touchdown drive and then sitting for three series.”

Cocannouer said he has also been impressed with the development of other players including senior wideouts Ade Amuda and Kevin Nowlin, and believes the passing league has helped jump start their offseason training.

“We haven’t done anything team-wise since team camp, and I think we’re about a step ahead of where we were last year overall,” Cocannouer said.

The passing league will resume next week with sessions on Tuesday, Thursday, with a final date scheduled for July 15. Several teams will also take part in the Oklahoma Showdown, a seven-on-seven passing league tournament that will take place on Friday at Santa Fe.

        

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