From staff reports
San Marcos —
The 2010 edition of the San Marcos Academy Bear football team reported to camp with excitement and enthusiasm at Ingram/A+ FCU Stadium Monday with a lot of new faces on the field.
The team is different in many ways, with new coaches, new players and new offensive and defensive schemes under head coach Les Davis, formerly of New Braunfels-Canyon.
The team is changing offenses, moving to multiple from the Slot T to a multiple spread formation, which will hopefully provide more scoring for the Bears.
SMA lost in the first round of of the playoffs last season and the Bears are determined to go back and even further this season, accoring to Davis.
The Bears lost 13 lettermen, but return 14. Key returnees include linebacker Cameron Whitehead, defensive end Cody Watson, and wide receiver Josh McIntyre. McIntyre has speed to burn as he was one of the top sprinters in TAPPS track last spring.
Offensively, the Bears return with running backs Ty Merriweather and Shane Boyer in the backfield along with quarterback Aubrey Oswalt.
Linemen Will Henke, Hunter Bilson, Dalton Wade and Estevan Gutierrez are expected to bolster the offensive line for the Bears this year.
Playing key roles for the Bears this season will a number of San Marcos players, including linemen Sabas Castillo, Cody Watson, and Cameron Whitehead.
“It feels good to get back on the field and start working hard for a repeat visit to the state playoffs,” Gutierrez said.
While his team was consumed with executing handoffs, form tackling, shutting down angles, and passing drills, Davis said he was just pleased with the first day of workouts.
The varsity squad of 40-plus players went through initial drills and conditioning during the two-a-day camp. With temperatures hovering around the 100 degree mark over the last couple of weeks, the coaching staff will see really fast which players are ready to step into gear and prepare for their first scrimmage Aug. 19 versus St. Andrews in Austin.
“We have got to get to know each other and begin the team-building process quickly,” Davis said.
The Bears open the season on the road on Aug. 27 versus UIL opponent Medina. Last season, the Bears escaped with a narrow, 31-28 win in their opener at home.
