Burnet football looks to get answers during scrimmage

CAPTION: Junior Cody Dixon keeps his pads low and his head up as he approaches the cone dummy. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

When the Burnet High School football team travels to Fischer Canyon Lake Friday, Aug. 14, the Bulldogs will have questions they want to get closer to answering.

Coaches are looking for the right combination of starters on both sides of the ball and are leaning heavily on returning players who have been there and done that already.

Among them are seniors Lyndon Harycki, Bryan Johnson and Calan Syphrett, junior Fisher Powell and sophomore Ethan Sanchez.

The Bulldogs are taking advantage of every opportunity as they are making the most of each practice and scrimmage leading up to the season opener at Llano Aug. 28.

Though the Bulldogs went to full pads Aug. 8, assistant coaches and coordinators continue leading each position-specific drill, which allows head coach Ben Speer to observe.

“I got to sit back and see them,” he said. “‘OK, what do we need to work on?'”

Speer is big on solid starts and has talked to his coaches about how their demeanor can fire up their players, especially the first week of training camp when the Texas heat has been relentless and the Bulldogs added more gear. For two days they wore T-shirts, shorts, socks, cleats and helmets. On day three, they added shoulder pads and girdles. On the sixth day, they were in full pads and full contact was allowed for the first time.

That’s why Speer said one important aspect of each day hasn’t wavered.

“Excitement,” he said. “Excitement that the coaches are bringing, and the kids have no choice but to be excited as well. And these coaches, the next thing is just their work. They just jumped in, got after it.”

He noted coaches spent a great deal of time preparing for training camp in various forms – watching film, having conversations and bonding with their players as they attended summer strength and conditioning. That was especially important for several men who joined Burnet Consolidated Independent School District this summer: Wire Bronson, Casey Buck, Tyler Fambrough and Aaron Terry.

“They spent hours up here in the summer, preparing for this moment and this time,” Speer said. “And so they’re well-prepared.”

While the Bulldogs exit the practice field knowing they put in plenty of sweat equity because their coaches demand it, Speer also pointed out another important element.

“The other thing is just being able to see these coaches love on these kids,” he said. “That was just enjoyable. You care about what’s going on in (the athlete’s) life and you just start to hear more and more of those conversations. Kids are coming in during the break and sitting down with their coaches and just talking – nothing about football.”

CAPTION: Sophomore Ethan Sanchez begins to tuck the ball so he can run with it during a ball-control drill. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography