'The 1st Day Of Practice Is Always Exciting:' Bixby, Union Officially Open Fall Camp

The clock struck midnight here in Oklahoma, and as far as I know, no one turned into a pumpkin. but teams across the state can officially open fall football camp. Union taking full advantage of the calendar flipping to August 12th, holding midnight madness at Union-Tuttle Stadium.

The Redhawks getting in a short practice before the rain rolled in. Union is led by one of the top quarterbacks in the state, Boston College commit Shaker Reisig. The heartbreaking loss to Jenks in last year's 6A-I semifinal has fueled the Redhawks into fall camp, and head coach Kirk Fridrich says this is a really tight group.

"The senior class has got a really great bond, that's something that's noticeable in the way that they work and the way that they are holding each other accountable," says Fridrich. "That's probably the biggest thing. And starting out with that kind of leadership this early in the season, before you face those types of adversities is pretty refreshing."

Down in Bixby, this morning's weather delaying the start of the Spartan's first practice by about an hour this morning. The defending 6A-I state champs have won 74 of their last 75 games. But this will be different fall for Bixby, as the team returns just five of the 22 starters from last year's state title team.

"Well we don't have a ton of returning starters, but those guys that have been out there and have been in leadership and playing roles, we expect a lot out of them. They've got to set the tone. They've got to set the expectation of Bixby Spartan football," Bixby head coach Loren Montgomery said. "We've got a lot of young kids, but a lot of young kids doing pretty well. From a strength perspective, from a summer work team camp, 7-on-7 perspective, we've continued to progress. And got some bright spots."

We're just 17 days away from high school football games that actually count. There's a handful of week Zero games that kick off on Thursday, August 29th.