By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
July 9, 2004
BUTLER, Ala. Patrician Academy will have no problem getting excited for its season opener.
The Saints will host arch-rival South Choctaw Academy in Week 1 of the prep football season, followed immediately by a trip south to face Mobile Christian a week later.
The Saint's longest stretch away from home is a two-week span, when Patrician is at Clarke Prep on Oct. 1 and at Wilcox on Oct. 8.
"I was hoping we'd get a few non-area games that wouldn't be so tough," said Patrician head coach Jim Archibald. "We play Clarke away and Wilcox away. The key to that thing will be learning quickly."
The Saints bring a relatively young team into the 2004 season, which Archibald has conditioned throughout the summer to prepare for the opening of fall practice. Patrician will hit the practice field in early August for about a week of work in shorts and pads, Archibald said, followed by two-a-days.
"We had a fairly good spring," Archibald said. "Our strength is going to be our skill people. We've got some young linemen who are going to do well with time, but they don't have much experience yet."
And while a daunting schedule looms for Patrician, which went 5-6 and earned a berth in the state playoffs in 2003, Archibald insists the only schedule on his mind for now is his own. The Saints still have about a month to run and lift weights before practice begins.
"All we can do is condition right now," Archibald said. "So I don't think much about our schedule. Our first game is against South Choctaw, our big rival, and that's the only game I'm thinking about now. After that, we'll play them one game at a time. I know it's a cliche', but it's true."