The second week of preseason football practice came to an end asplayers and coaches enjoyed the unseasonably cool weather. It wasthe first week in full equipment for area public school teams.

Some schools will participate in jamborees Friday night, givingcoaches and fans a preview of the 2004 campaign. Bogue Chitto willhost Enterprise and West Lincoln on Troy Smith Field, starting at6:30.

Lawrence County travels to Columbia Friday night to play thehost Wildcats and the Hattiesburg Tigers. Franklin County is atMcLaurin to play Mendenhall.

West Lincoln: First-year head coach BrooksBurns said practice this week has been good despite some minorinjuries.

“Monday and Tuesday, we had everybody out and healthy,” saidBurns. “We ran into some injuries but that will be okay. It’ssetbacks. Nothing major. Something that will keep the kids out fora few days. The numbers are low. It’s going to be coaching on therun.”

Even though the numbers are small, Burns likes the attitude andthe work ethic the Bears have.

“Practice has been good all week,” explained Burns. “They areattentive and have good attitudes. The fact that kids are catchingon to what we are doing is good. We are making progress faster thanI had expected.

Burns and the Bears are looking forward to Friday’s scrimmage atBogue Chitto.

” We have the scrimmage Friday at Bogue Chitto,” added Burns.”The kids attitude has been good. Hopefully, we can have a goodyear. I am looking forward to the kids getting progressively betterand being healthy. Winning will come.”

West Lincoln kicks off its season at home, hosting Loyd Star onThursday, Aug. 26.

Wesson: New head coach Tommy Clopton has beenpleased with this week’s practice with the Cobras.

“The week went well,” said Clopton. “We had our first scrimmageThursday.”

Clopton said the Cobras worked a lot this week on the specialteams. “We worked on special teams this week. We’re putting thingsin as quickly as we can. Then we’ll cut back for gamepreparation.”

Wesson kicks off its season at Enterprise on Friday, Aug.27.

Lawrence County: The Cougars are in a massiverebuilding season. “We have to do a lot of teaching,” said LCHSfirst-year head coach Mike Davis. “We have a new quarterback and anew center.

“The team has a good attitude,” said Davis. “Our kids areworking hard and they aren’t complaining.”

Franklin County: Coach Anthony Hart and hisBulldogs have enjoyed the cooler days last week.

“The weather at the end of the week was nice,” said Hart. “Thatwas probably a good factor in our practice. We had a good scrimmageFriday and worked longer because of the weather. The kids areworking.”

Hart said his Bulldogs have been working on fundamentals andtheir base offense.

“We have tried this first two weeks is work on the fundamentalsand base offense,” explained Hart. “That has been our goal, to getin what we do the best.”

Franklin County will participate in a football jamboree Fridayin McLaurin. Hart said they begin play at 4:40 p.m. againstMendenhall followed by scrimmages with Pelahatchie and Pisgah.

“We are doing it to get a little jump start,” added Hart whowill have the chance to see how the younger players react in gameaction. “We have some positions we are not comfortable with. We arestill very young in most spots.”

Other season-opening games on August 27 include Hazlehurst atBrookhaven, Loyd Star at West Lincoln, McAdams at Bogue Chitto,Jefferson County at Crystal Springs, South Pike at North Pike,Hattiesburg at McComb. A Thursday night special features LawrenceCounty at Franklin County on August 26.

Brookhaven Academy officially kicks off its season at Gallman tomeet the Copiah Academy Colonels Friday night. Parklane’s Pioneershave an open date.

The Co-Lin Wolves, coached by Glenn Davis, kick off their seasonon Thursday, Sept. 2, at Holmes Community College in Goodman.