Dublin, guests get in midsummer work at annual half-pad football camp

The gridiron was sizzling, and so was the Dublin defense, which seemed to break up more passes behind the line of scrimmage than opponents completed during this portion of its padded camp Wednesday morning at the Shamrock Bowl.

There was a good bit of both the passing and ground games featured over different segments of the two-day event, which welcomed Rutland, Metter, Westside Macon and what appeared to be Macon County for some scrimmage reps a tad more realistic than your typical summer practice. GHSA rules afford teams a maximum of four days – two in June, and a couple more in July – to attend these jamborees that break partially from the state’s summer-long prohibition on pads and contact for a few hours.

It gives players, who are permitted to block and go through the preliminary motions of tackling in the upper half of their usual game equipment, a chance to simulate the regular-season physicality and speed they wouldn’t otherwise see until the fall, and coaches just as valuable an opportunity to evaluate their teams’ progress about halfway through the summer.

The Irish and other local football teams now head into a statewide off week before the countdown to fall practices begins next month.