April 23, 2013
David Coleman
The Port Arthur News
PORT ARTHUR — And then there was one.
Only one local team will be suiting up for spring football this year after coaches at Port Neches-Groves recently decided to instead hold two-a-day workouts in August. PN-G head coach Brandon Faircloth confirmed the switch earlier this month and said the coaches had been talking about it since February.
“We never want to do something just because that’s how we’ve always done it,” Faircloth said. “This will be the first time since about 2003 for me to not have spring practice.”
Faircloth said a big factor in making the switch was the age of his team. PN-G is expected to have a number of sophomore contributors next season. Those players, being freshman currently, are not in the Indians offseason period this spring.
By moving things back, the Indians also eliminate any possible conflicts with players on the baseball team being able to participate in spring drills. At least two quarterbacks who could potentially start for PN-G next fall, sophomore Ky Walker and freshman Adam Morse, are currently playing big roles for the Indian baseball team.
With the switch, PN-G gets one extra scrimmage in the fall and the Indians have already lined up Hamshire-Fannett to fill that need. The Indians will now open fall practice on August 5 with three days of conditioning before the first day of contact on August 9.
Port Arthur Memorial is the only team scheduled to participate in spring practices this season.
