For the first time in two months and the first time since fall practices began, Free State High and Lawrence High’s football teams were able to put the pads back on and hit each other.

Players from both schools didn’t miss a beat.

“Getting back in pads is the best,” LHS senior linebacker and H-back Stevin Hays said. “You can’t really tell how good you got over the summer, messing around with just your helmet on and just your shorts and everything. But once you put on the pads, you can tell how much stronger you got, how much faster you got, and who’s out there really trying to hit.”

The Lions spent the first part of their practice talking about the safety of tackling with their heads up and went through proper tackling drills before going into a full offense-versus-defense matchup.

The hitting was limited, as the coaches blew the whistle after the initial hits, hoping to keep runners up and avoid injuries, but there was no shying away from contact.

“With pads on you can see who is wanting to hit and who really wants to play,” LHS senior Luke Zenger said.

The last time the Lions were suited up was in mid-June for an Emporia State team camp. Finally, they could go back and enjoy one of their favorite parts of the sport while focusing on silencing any doubters with a successful season.

“We’ve always been told that our class won’t do anything, we can’t shape up to anything,” senior wide receiver and defensive back Nyle Anderson said. “We’ve just had that whole mentality, and once we hit the weight room this summer, we were like, ‘We’ve got to change something. We’ve got to make something of this year — it’s our last year.'”

Free State

Free State tried to avoid some of the heat by cutting two-a-days to just one night practice Thursday, but that didn’t take away from any of the enthusiasm for putting the pads on.

In the last hour of practice, the Firebirds ran full offense-versus-defense plays before raising the intensity with their “Oklahoma” drill.

The Oklahoma drill has an offensive and defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, a running back five yards back and a blocker and tackler five yards ahead of the line of scrimmage. The running back is only given a few yards of width, as it encourages defenders to break off their block and make the tackle.

“It’s always fun to get out and do the Oklahoma drill and hit some guys,” FSHS senior defensive back and wide receiver Joel Spain said. “It really livens up the practice and gets everyone ready for the season.”

The drill did its job, as the intensity was raised for the final 30 minutes of practice.

“Once you get pads on, you know who belongs and who doesn’t — who’s physical and who’s not,” senior Tye Carter said. “It’s great after summer, and all the work we put in. It’s good to finally get to actually work, not just run through stuff.”

As the Firebirds took their first big step toward their first game of the season, the seniors have their eyes on making this year memorable.

“This is our last year. This is our team,” Spain said. “This is what we’re going to be remembered by, not last year’s team or anything. We want to go out on a good note.”