High school football practice officially begins Monday acrossthe state of Mississippi. In this area, three new head footballcoaches will guide their teams through preseason practice: RandallHuffman at Loyd Star, Josh Garrett at Enterprise and Rickey O’Quinnat Franklin County.

Football practice, under the strict guidelines of the MississippiHigh School Activities Association and the Mississippi Associationof Independent Schools, follows a format of the first three days inshorts, helmets and T-shirts as coaches concentrate onconditioning. Shoulder pads may be worn the fourth day of practiceand full gear can be worn on the sixth day.

In the earliest-ever starting date for preseason drills, the MHSAAis allowing an additional week to provide extra conditioning timefor jamborees on Aug. 13. The organization’s Classic games willtake place Aug. 20 or Aug. 19.

The MAIS begins its 2010 campaign Aug. 20. Teams can scrimmageanother school Aug. 6, followed by a jamboree on Aug. 19.

Coping with the high heat and humidity during practice is a majorconcern for coaches. They are taking extra precautions as the heatindex is expected to surpass the 100-degree mark during afternoonworkouts. Players must stay hydrated before, during and afterpractices.

Brookhaven:

Practice starts Monday at 4 p.m. Coach Tucker Peavey said hisPanthers would begin a normal two-a-day practice routine startingThursday at 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Peavey said he expects around 115 players. The Panthers host TerryAug. 13, for a jamboree, starting at 6 p.m. on King Field.

Ole Brook’s first game is Aug. 27, at Franklin County.

Asked about heat precautions, Peavey said, “We keep ice towels andlot of water. We give them a break about every 20 minutes.”

Franklin County:

The Bulldogs start practice Monday at 10 a.m.

“We must be conscious of the heat,” said O’Quinn. “We will givethem plenty of water.”

O’Quinn said Meet The Bulldogs Night is Aug. 13. They host LoydStar for a Classic Game Aug. 20, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

O’Quinn said he expects around 70 players to report for practiceand he was looking forward to Monday. “I’m excited. We have had agood summer. We are ready to get started.”

Loyd Star

The Hornets begin practice Monday at 8 a.m.

“We haven’t decided on the afternoon practice (time) because of theheat,” said Huffman.

The Hornets will practice twice daily the first week.

Huffman said he expects to have around 35 players.

“We are ready to get started,” said Huffman. “We want to get outthere and start putting in plays.”

Huffman’s Hornets debut Aug. 20, at Franklin County.

Enterprise

The Yellow Jackets start practice Monday and go from 8-9:45 a.m.The Jackets will take a refreshment break and return to the fieldat 10:30. They’ll conclude drills around noon.

Garrett said several of his players live in the Lake Lincoln areaso he wanted to avoid transportation problems by keeping thepractices close together.

“We’ll have plenty of water for them,” said Garrett. “We havemanagers who keep water bottles full at all times.”

Garret said he expects round 40 players to report.

“I’m excited and ready to get started,” said Garrett. “I’m pleasedwith the way our kids worked in the offseason.”

The Jackets are in an Aug. 13 jamboree at Lawrence County. Garrettsaid he expects to play Tylertown, the defending Class 3A statechampion, for two quarters.

Hazlehurst

Coach Todd McDaniel welcomes the Indians to practice Monday. Theirfirst game is Aug. 20, at Hinds AHS in Utica.

Bogue Chitto:

The Bobcats will practice in the morning at 8. They’ll practice at5 p.m. the remainder of the week.

Coach Gareth Sartin said he expects around 35 players to report. Hesaid his team’s summer workouts have prepared them for preseasondrills. “We have doing our running and lifting in the afternoonsand getting used to the heat.”

The Bobcats will travel to Pelahatchie for a jamboree on Aug. 13.Florence also will participate.

The Bobcats debut Aug. 20, at Madison St. Joseph.

Lawrence County:

The Cougars won’t start preseason drills tomorrow. They’ll startJuly 28.

“We are not coming out to practice until Wednesday,” said LCHScoach Mike Davis. He said district coaches are going to make aproposal at the MHSAA district meeting Monday night in an effort tochange the starting date for practice.

“We would like to see them (MHSAA) have the Classic and jamboreeson the same date,” said Davis. “That would give coaches an optionof playing in either one, instead of having the jamboree date aweek earlier.”

The Cougars will work out in the mornings, starting at 7, Wednesdaythrough Friday. Davis said he expected around 60 varsity players ingrades 10 through 12.

LCHS hosts a jamboree Aug. 13. The teams will include McComb,Enterprise-Lincoln and Tylertown. Starting time is 6 p.m.

The Cougars kick of their season Thursday, Aug. 19, when they visitJackson Callaway on Newell Field. Kickoff is 7:30.

West Lincoln:

The Bears won’t practice Monday. Coach Chris Calcote said the teamwould lift weights and run some plays Tuesday and Thursday in thelate afternoon and the following Monday. Practice will continueevery day after that with the exception of Saturdays andSundays.

Calcote said he expects to have around 24 players on thevarsity.

The Bears play their first game Aug. 20 at Williams-Sullivan inDurant. Calcote’s Bears snapped a 26-game losing streak in lastseason’s opener, beating Williams-Sullivan in overtime.

Brookhaven Academy

Brookhaven Academy, coming off a perfect 15-0 campaign and a ClassAA state championship, practices Monday at 7:30 a.m. and 4p.m.

Coach Herbert Davis said he expects around 30 varsity candidates.The Cougars will visit Jackson Academy for an Aug. 6 scrimmage. OnAug. 13, they participate in the McComb Parklane Academyjamboree.

BA’s season opener is Aug. 20, at Silliman Institute in Clinton,La.

Wesson

The Cobras won’t practice until Aug. 2 because of a later openerthan most teams. School starts Aug. 5. Practice next Monday andTuesday from 4-7:30 p.m.

Coach Tommy Clopton said he expects around 50 players to report forpractice. The Cobras play their first game Aug. 27, hosting theRichland Rangers.

Clopton said his team won’t participate in a jamboree or a Classicgame.

Parklane Academy:

The Pioneers will practice twice in the morning, starting at 7:30and 10:45. That schedule will continue through Friday.

Coach Bo Milton said his team would scrimmage Bowling Green, La.,Aug. 6. On Aug. 13, the Pioneers host Centreville and BrookhavenAcademy for a jamboree.

Milton said he expects around 30 players to report for practice.The Pioneers kick off their season Aug. 20, hosting JacksonAcademy.