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The Florala Wildcats are eager to get the season started as they prepare for Thursday night’s opener on the road against St. Michael’s.

“Our kids, for the most part, have done a good job at practice,” Florala head coach Toby Greene said. “We’ve avoided a lot of the heat issues. We’ve been lucky there and have had pretty cooperative weather.”

Greene said they kids are excited about the season opener.

“It’s starting to pick up now,” Greene said. “The game is right around the corner. The intensity and enthusiasm has picked up. I think our kids are going to be ready Thursday.

As for St. Michael’s, Greene said he expects them to be a better team than they have been the past two years.

“They are still an emerging team,” Greene said. “It’s my understanding that this is their first year having seniors. We anticipate them being leaps and bounds better than they have been in the past. They have more experience and they are going to be more physically mature. Their kids have been through the battles the past two years. We expect a dogfight. From what I’ve seen, they are very multiple on offense. They are going to run whatever they think they can hurt you with.”

Greene said he likes what he has seen from his players as the season approaches.

“I’ve been impressed with their coachability,” Greene said of his team. “They are buying in and doing what they should do. For the most part, they do a good job of listening and at least attempting what we are trying to do. They have really come together as a team. They really care about each other and I’ve been impressed with that so far.”

On Thursday, Greene said he just wants to see his guys getting after it.

“I just want us to go out there and play as hard as we can play,” Greene said. “There are going to be some good things that happen and some bad things that happen. Really, just go out there and give great effort and see how the ball bounces.”

Greene said there will be several keys to winning the season opener.
“Same as any opener, we have to limit our mistakes,” Greene said. “No foolish penalties and hang on to the football. As a coach you are always concerned with how you are conditioned. Our kids have worked hard, but it’s like the kicking game, those kinds of things, especially at a small school, are vital to eliminating those kinds of mistakes. You can condition all you want, but there is no substitute for game speed. Adrenaline gets going and it’s going to be a whole different speed than it was in practice. Especially at a 1A school, you can’t always get the best looks at practice. It circles back to if our kids play hard, everything will take care of itself.”

Greene said he excited to get his first season at Florala started.

“I’m excited and ready to go,” Greene said. “I’m ready to see what we’ve got. Me being new, we went up to Troy and played Isabella in that spring game. That was fun, but it didn’t matter much. We are ready to see how the kids will compete and we are looking forward to a big year.”