A passing grade

When Charlottesville head football coach Chris Fraser and Western Albemarle’s head man Ed Pierce got to talking at a basketball game in the winter, the two tossed around the idea of forming a passing league for the four Albemarle County schools to jumpstart preseason practice.
The idea has since come to fruition, and Western Albemarle was the site of the second week of the Central Virginia 7-on-7 Passing League, with two games played on Wednesday night.
Albemarle faced Monticello in the first contest, and Charlottesville took on the Western in the second game. Each school is hosting one week of a four-week “season.” Albemarle was the site for last week’s opening day.
Every stop that Fraser has made in his coaching career has included involvement in a similar league, and he and Pierce wanted to establish something locally, and not just for a one-day travel event like some schools do.
Like a scrimmage, the games are designed to get kids back into football mode, keep them in shape and give the coaching staff an idea of who has what it takes to start. It also allows the team to keep close-knit ties before summer practice gets underway.
With each series starting from the 45-yard line, the offense has a stationary center that snaps to the quarterback, who then has four seconds to throw to one of five receivers and has seven defenders to avoid.
Laterals, contacts and blocking are not allowed, and play stops on an incomplete pass or as soon as a receiver is touched, to avoid injury. First downs are awarded at the 30- and 15-yard lines, and after a touchdown, teams can go for one point from the 5, or two from the 10.
But it’s not about who wins or loses these non-contact, no-pads, no-pressure games.
In fact, one of the goals of the league doesn’t have anything to do with competition at all.
“The biggest thing is that it gives us the chance to work on our passing game and pass defense without pads on. It gives us extra practice time,” said Fraser, who is entering his second year at the helm at CHS. “The second thing is community relations. It gives us a chance to work with Western and Monticello and Albemarle, and for our kids to get to know their kids on a little different level, and vice versa.
“We see every one of these teams in the regular season with pads on, so this gives everyone an opportunity to work together in a less-threatening environment.”
Albemarle’s Jordan Hill, one of the area’s fastest wide receivers, believes that participating in the league will pay dividends down the road.
“It’s going to help get the timing down for the wide receivers and defensive backs,” Hill said. “Just being on the field will help keep us in shape and get us prepared.”
Western defensive coordinator Sam Spencer, who was running the show for the Warriors in Pierce’s absence, stressed the importance of getting the team together when it would not be possible otherwise.
“Some guys are going on vacation or to camps for other sports, so it’s important that we get out here and try to build some team chemistry,” said Spencer. “Being able to help the kids is the main thing, my main focus is making sure that they get something out of it, and understand that football is more than just a sport. You understand discipline and being a part of something special.”
There’s another advantage for Monticello coach Brud Bicknell, who echoed the sentiments of his colleagues.
Bicknell and his staff will have to replace just about every spot on the roster with young talent after two very successful seasons.
“We lost 31 seniors from last year,” said Bicknell, whose Mustangs finished
11-2 (6-0 JD) and nearly returned to Lynchburg in November to defend their 2007 Group AA championship. “We only have one starter returning, so this gives us kind of a preview of our younger players that we’ll be working with.”
For instance, the Mustangs are looking at three players to step up and emerge as a starting quarterback, including Jhalil Mosley. Bicknell knows that these games will identify what each one’s strengths and weaknesses are before practice starts.
For the other three schools, who went a combined 9-21 last season (.300), these games also offer a clean slate, and with a few big plays here and there, or a come-from-behind win, a more positive attitude could follow.
“The kids have a ball, it’s fun for them,” Fraser said. “I think for us, it gives us a chance to work and try to help start a winning mentality.”
The Black Knights suffered a 1-9 campaign in 2008, and were down by two scores at the half on Wednesday before storming back to force a tie behind the arm of incoming freshman Benjamin Wilhelm.
“We get to see how our young quarterback can perform out there and get ready for the season,” said rising senior Maurice Jackson, who is expected to contribute for Charlottesville’s offense from several positions. “We’ve got a lot to work on in practice, and this can give us a lot of confidence going in that we can have fun and get a winning season started.”
On July 22nd, Charlottesville will host the third set of round-robin games, with the playoffs the week after at Monticello. In the future, the league hopes to expand and add four more teams from the surrounding counties, but Fraser is content with what he and Pierce have created for the area.
“If no one else wants to play,” Fraser said, “as long as these four schools are doing it, we’re in good shape.”
The schools will start regular season practices the first week of August.