Spring football a hit in Hudson

• Spring game

A little rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of players or fans at last Saturday’s third annual Navy-White Spring Football game at Newton Field. Over 100 Raider football players capped five days of practice with Saturday’s scrimmage in preparation for the 2012 high school football season.

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Hudson High School’s first football game of the 2012 season isn’t until Aug. 25, but the sound of cracking pads and whistles filled the air last week.

Head coach Adam Kowles and his staff put the Raiders through five days of WIAA-sanctioned practice, culminating with last Saturday’s third annual Navy-White Spring Game at Newton Field.

Kowles said the team the its fans have embraced the annual event, and looks forward to continuing to the event each spring.

“I think we’re trying to build a tradition here,” he said. “It’s really just a practice, but people get excited about it and it’s a good way to kick off the summer.”

Under WIAA guidelines, high school teams are allowed five days of unrestricted contact each summer, ending no later than July 31. Kowles has chosen the first week after school ends to put the Raiders through their paces.

“If you do it later there may be more retention,” he said. “So we may have to do some re-teaching later. But doing it early sets the tone for the summer and gets the kids excited and fired up to get into the weight room.”

Over 100 players, next year’s sophomores through seniors, suited up for the game with teams split into Navy and White. Each team was divided into three groups—first team, second team and sophomores—who went up against their counterparts, allowing each player to play about one-third of the game.

Quarters consisted of 20 minutes of running time, and for the first time Kowles utilized a modified scoring system that rewarded defenses for forcing a punt or coming up with a turnover. That made for a high-scoring affair with the Navy team reaching the 70-point plateau to edge the White by eight points.

Kowles said he liked what he saw.

“It’s always fun,” he said. “ We saw a lot of great team play and a lot of great individual efforts.”

He said the week leading up to the spring game is just as important as the game itself.

“We always talk about the preparation is the work,” he said. “This is the icing on the cake.”

The Raiders, who finished 6-4 in 2011 and reached the WIAA playoffs for the fourth time in five years, open the 2012 season at home Friday, Aug. 24, against Kenosha Bradford. The first day of practice is Tuesday, Aug. 7.

Tags: sports, raiders, prep