During its spring practice session, Morgan County football’s team has worked hard the past few weeks.
The ‘Dogs hit the field at the start of the month and returned to “working on fundamentals” of the game before their spring scrimmage against Walnut Grove High School this Friday at home.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins likes to use the spring practice period to help his team get back into the swing of things. He thinks this period is extremely beneficial for his kids.
“I think it’s been a good spring. Again, our yearly goal is to have a better spring than we had the year before,” Jenkins said. “I thought our offseason was good, and our attendance was up for workouts. More kids are becoming involved in the program, and we use this period to benefit our team.”
Jenkins wants his players to perfect the “little things” before summer practice starts in June. He said the points of emphasis are working on hitting, blocking, tackling, and numerous other basic skills.
Morgan County’s staff is also using the spring period to better condition their players, especially because the temperature will soon rise, and they need to be ready to practice in the summer heat.
“We need to stay conditioned because summer is here. We’ve got to be able to handle the heat,” Jenkins said. “Starting in June, we will have several OTAs (organized team activities) and padded camps.”
Morgan County had a historic season in 2023, which was Jenkins’s second year in charge. The Bulldogs won 10 games for the first time in 20 years, their first region championship in six years, and their first playoff game in 11 years. They’re trying to build on that success heading into next season.
Jenkins knows the expectations are high for his third year at the helm, but he doesn’t discuss them with his players. He and his staff are only worried about the day-to-day operations right now.
When talking with his players, Jenkins likes to reference climbing a mountain. Year one of his tenure was preparing for the trip, and last season was about reaching base camp. Next year, Jenkins wants his players to keep climbing, although he knows they’re nowhere near reaching the top.
“For us, getting the playoff monkey off our back was a big deal. That was something emphasized because it had been a while since we had last won a first-round game,” Jenkins said. “Going back to talking about the mountain, the next steps for us are continuing to do what we need to do, playing our very best football in the playoffs, and taking the next step. We don’t talk that much about winning.
"We try to do all the little things, the day-to-day stuff. We feel like if we do all those things, it takes care of the bigger picture. We never talk about state championships or any of that kind of stuff.”
Morgan County will use its scrimmage against Walnut Grove as another chance to improve as a team. The Bulldogs and Warriors will kick off on Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at Billy Corry Stadium.