McKenzie High School Hosts 7-on-7

McKENZIE (July 9) — High school football teams resumed activity this week following the TSSAA-mandated "dead period." McKenzie High School hosted Obion County Central, Greenfield and Southside Thursday morning for 7-on-7 scrimmages and strength and skill competitions.

On the practice field, squads of seven competed round-robin style against each of the others, with each offense facing each defense for just over ten minutes using "touch" football rules.

Inside the MHS indoor practice facility, linemen competed in strength and skill competitions such as weightlifting, pushing sleds, pulling tires, tug of war and more.

McKenzie Head Coach Keith Hodge told The Banner, "This is the time of the year where you want to start wrapping up 7-on-7 and start getting into a little bit more of a grind with the O-line and run game. We thought it would be a good opportunity to get linemen involved. Linemen like to do stuff too, and everything they do in the summer kind of gets monotonous. So, we've got them in the indoor [facility], which is fantastic. Gives them plenty of space to get things done. To get in there and compete. That's the main thing you want this time of the year. Which kids are gonna compete, which are not? You want to stay on top of that."

Hodge said of his Rebels, "I feel good about where we are mentally right now. I feel like we are mentally where we need to be. We've got a lot of experience that's back. Especially in our skilled positions. That's always a good thing.

"We're still building depth. I think depth is always the key going forward. How do we build depth? How do we get other kids ready that might not quite be ready to step up and start? That's our job, to get that done.

"So, I like where we are mentally. Physically, we've hit the weight room really hard since January. So those two things are really good for us right now."

He reiterated the focus of his coaching staff during the home stretch of the preseason. "Building depth. How are we going to get better? How are we going to build and increase our competition and practice to get our kids ready to play?"

The Rebels and the other teams in the area will continue to move closer to "full-on" football as the preseason winds down.

McKenzie hosts scrimmages at Bethel University's Wildcat Stadium on Friday, July 31 and Friday, August 7.

The Rebels will participate in the Henry County High School jamboree on Friday, August 14 and begin the regular season at Huntingdon on Friday, August 21.