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    JMA Trojan o-linemen attend Down and Dirty camp in Deland, Fla.

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July 20, 2010

JMA Trojan o-linemen attend Down and Dirty camp in Deland, Fla.

Brent Martin CNHI

MILLEDGEVILLE — Coach Don Marchman and the JMA Trojan football program have been steadily conditioning and beefing up their line in the offseason, and that hard work paid off recently as the school sent 11 offensive linemen to a camp in Deland, Fla.

The camp, called Down and Dirty, is the largest linemen camp in the country, and is in its 17th year. The goal of the camp is to “help linemen develop their technique as well as their physical and psychological character.”

Marchman has been pleased with his squad’s offseason conditioning, and said that all of his players competed well in Florida recently.

“They all, as a group, did extremely well. They had a lot of compliments for us. They did a lot of board drills and went head to head with a lot  of top lineman,” said Marchman. “It was a live contact camp. The guys got after it real good. Every report I got was real positive.”

Marchman also stated that his players are slowly ascending to a new playing platform, and that each step is vital in building the team’s future success.

“It’s kind of a progression. All of the guys were young last year. Granger Harpe is a big kid and is looking good for us. It’s good for us and good conditioning for them,” said Marchman. “It’s good to line up against some other people. It gives you more of a measuring stick. It was extreme competition.”

All in all, Marchman feels like his team is on the right track, especially if they continue to focus and believe in the philosophies instilled in them by the coaches.

“We’ve had a real good summer and are working hard. We’ve done a lot of 7 on 7 drills and are doing some skill stuff on Tuesday nights. We are also hitting the weight room and doing  a lot of agility drills,” he said.

The Trojans summer of camps will continue in Americus August 1.

“We are going to work against Southland and Deerfield-Windsor at that camp. We are going to get some good work in against them. We are going to work against Heritage when we get back to Millegeville,” said Marchman.

The Trojans will open their 2010 regular season on Thursday night, August 26, versus Gatewood.

“I feel like we are going to have a big crowd, even with it being at Gatewood. It will be an exciting ball game and it will be the Battle of the Lake,” said Marchman. Those first games will be real key and are extremely important. We must get off to a good start. With all this hard work we want to see it pay off. We have worked as hard as any team I’ve had in my career.”

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