No scrimmage, no problem for EF

By jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

While several local schools returned to the gridiron Friday for scrimmages, Elizabeth Forward’s football team did not. 

Instead of scrimmaging Ligonier Valley, the Warriors continued to practice at Warrior Stadium a week after returning to the field following a 14-day quarantine period due to a possible exposure to COVID-19. 

“We would have obviously liked to have (a scrimmage) and have the opportunity to hit somebody other than ourselves,” Elizabeth Forward head coach Mike Collodi said. “We’re getting creative with practices, though.” 

EF, which began its heat acclimation practices Aug. 28 and concluded Tuesday, still found a way to reap the competitive benefits of a scrimmage through its session Friday. 

Collodi said he opened up practice with some drills in which guys were competing against one another. He did so in an attempt to avoid being monotonous with the group’s preparation. 

“We had the rap music blaring and the kids were getting excited for it,” said Collodi, who is entering his sixth season at EF. “We did another one of those drills Thursday, too, where it’s one person versus one person. The whole team watches and they have fun, hooting and hollering.” 

While the Warriors were unable to be on the practice field for a two-week period, they haven’t exactly been forced into a situation where they’re playing catch up. 

Collodi’s bunch has been working hard over the last several months to prepare for what is expected to be a big year for the boys in red and black. 

“We did a ton of Zoom calls and we got eight weeks in this summer before having to shut down,” Collodi said. “We were going four days a week for eight weeks solid, so we had about 30 practices in prior to that. That was a lot more than most schools. When (the quarantine) happened, we already had our full playbook on offense and defense in. 

“We were pretty much ahead of the game, it really just affected losing the scrimmage.” 

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