Bison teams set fall scrimmages

Thursday, August 19, 2010
Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook junior quarterback Matt Chitwood (middle) turns from under center to run an option play during Bison football scrimmage action Aug. 14 at Weiland Field. Chitwood and his teammates will scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 19, at Weiland.

The McCook High School football and girls softball teams will have final dress rehearsals this week before the curtain rises for the official start of their respective 2010 fall seasons next week.

Head coach Jeff Gross will put his current Bison football edition on display in the annual sports drink scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 19, at Weiland Field. Thursday's Bison "dinner theater" opens with the annual Bison Boosters Hamburger Feed from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Weiland Field, followed by the Bison football scrimmage kicking off at 7 p.m.

Bison fans can dine on hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, chips, cookies and drinks at a cost of a free-will donation to help support MHS athletic programs.

Admission to the Bison football scrimmage will be a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.). Coach Gross said any size sports drink is welcome, but the team will especially benefit from powdered sports drink mix.

The Bison softball girls will pose for photos Friday, Aug. 20, starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Jaycees Sports Complex. Head Jason Cochran will run his squad through a scrimmage Friday starting at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Varsity, JV, freshman football scrimmage

The McCook varsity, junior varsity and freshman football teams will compete in Thursday's scrimmage. Coach Gross has split his players into Red and White teams, and he said the practice session will duplicate game situations, complete with limited special teams play (kickoffs, punts, point after touchdowns).

Gross and his staff have a nice situation with many strong, talented players on both sides of the ball. He plans to have many of his starters play just on offense or defense this season, with hopes of keeping those players fresher through each game and through the season. Gross has also worked those top offensive and defensive units against each other in early-season drills, and he feels that is making his team better by upping the level of competition in team drills.

After Thursday's scrimmage, Gross said he will scale down the battles of top units squaring off in practice sessions.

"Because we need to save our bodies for Friday night," he said.

The Bison open the 2010 varsity football campaign Friday, Aug. 27, when Scottsbluff invades Weiland Field (7 p.m kickoff).

McCook held a scrimmage last Saturday morning at Weiland to complete the first week of preseason drills. Coach Gross said his team has worked hard this week as they held their final two-a-day workout last Monday and will now have one practice each day after school.

"They did OK," Gross said. "The second week's always tougher because you bodies are wore down, and now you're trying to fight through fatigue and sore muscles and all that. At the same time, school's starting, and we're trying to get the last few new things in while polishing the other stuff. Mentally it's a challenge to get everybody through, including coaches."

Gross said the Bison had a strong practice session Wednesday evening in a final tune-up to Thursday night's scrimmage.

"We did a lot of good things," he said.

Softball scrimmage

Coach Cochran will use Friday's scrimmage to determine his varsity roster for next Monday's season-opening action. McCook travels to Hastings Monday, Aug. 23, along with Lexington to face Beatrice and Norris.

The Bison have nearly the entire varsity roster returning from last year's team that qualified for the 2009 Class B State Softball Championships.

Cochran schedules tough competition for his team during the regular season to help make his Bison girls battle-tested when district tournament action rolls around in October. McCook's softball slogan is: To be the best, you've got to beat the best.

McCook will return to Hastings Thursday, Aug. 26, to face Omaha Skutt Catholic and Omaha Gross Catholic. The Bison will also compete in the Holdrege Classic Saturday, Aug. 28, with pool play games against Hastings and Holdrege, then a meeting in the finals against either Cozad, St. Paul or Gering, depending on pool play results.

Holdrege, Beatrice, Norris and Omaha Skutt all qualified for the Class B state tournament last fall, while Cozad competed in the Class C state tourney.

Last season, McCook lost its opening game at districts, then won five straight to claim the district title and advance to state. The Bison went 0-2 at state, but Coach Cochran and his squad have set a goal of returning to the Class B state meet and playing on Saturday -- meaning the McCook girls would have to win one of its first two games at the double-eliminated state competition Oct. 13-15 at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in Hastings.

Other Bison fall sports

McCook's other fall sports are in full swing, with practice sessions in preparation for upcoming season-opening competition.

The Bison golf girls open the fall campaign Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the Sidney Invitational. The McCook boys tennis team will face host Kearney Catholic and Holdrege Friday, Aug. 27, followed by the Grand Island Central Catholic Invitational Saturday, Aug. 28.

McCook's cross-country teams open the season at the Cozad Invitational Thursday, Sept. 2. The Bison girls volleyball team begins the season Sept. 2 at home against Hastings.

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • *

    Go Bison!!! Here's to another wonderful season. Keep up the good work.

    -- Posted by cplcac on Fri, Aug 20, 2010, at 4:02 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: