Rain limits football teams, too

Mondays are usually lighter days for high school football players -- a little video work, possibly a little conditioning and then a junior varsity game.

But recent Mondays aren't like normal football Mondays.

"We canceled our JV game, but I'm sure a lot of folks had to do that," Notre Dame coach Josh Sellers said.

"It has been raining this morning and it looks like it's getting ready to cut loose again. We're not going out," Polk County coach Derrick Davis said Monday afternoon.

The unbeaten Wildcats, who host Walker Valley on Friday, watched tape of their Friday win and part of Walker Valley's game last week and then did their conditioning in the gym.

"If we went outside, about all we'd probably accomplish is getting somebody hurt," Davis said. "Now, if we hadn't been playing pretty well, then we might go out this and hit. By Week 5 you ought to have your system down pat. All you're going to do in the rain and mud is mess up your timing."

Monday is normally a walk-through day for East Ridge, but Pioneers coach Mike Martin gave his team the day off.

"We have had three fairly physical games, and, weather aside, we had already planned to give the guys the day off," he said. "But we slopped around last week, and we'll have to do it this week if the rain continues."

Red Bank coach Tim Daniels has practiced both indoors and out, citing the belief that if you're going to play in it then you need to practice in it.

"Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get wet," he said. "As much rain as we have taken on our fields, no matter where you go you're going to get wet. We've had so much rain that there is no place for the water to go but up. Our practice field is under water."

Surprisingly, given its history with flooding from Chickamauga Creek, Boyd-Buchanan could have used its practice field Monday. However, the Buccaneers' game field was under water. The practice field is about six feet higher than the game field, which takes all the water that drains off the campus.

"It's like seven rivers flowing right into it," Reynolds said. "The good thing? I remembered to turn off the irrigation system."

Howard coach Alvin Tarver also was concerned about flooding.

"It's been a while, but I have seen water as high as the crossbar on the goal post," he said.

Of an almost bigger concern to coaches is cutting their fields, most of which are bermuda and need to be cut two or three times per week.

"We cut it last Friday, but I don't see us being able to cut it before Friday week," East Ridge's Martin said.

"With bermuda if you get behind you're fighting the battle of getting it mowed," Daniels said. "You worry about damaging the surface with tire ruts. We may have to now it first with a deck mower to knock it down and then try to pull the reel mower through it."

Baylor hasn't been able to cut the grass on its practice field and has long since lost any lines that were there, but the Red Raiders, like McCallie, can just go to their artificial surface game field.

"It has been a life-saver for us -- not having to deal with the mud," Baylor coach Phil Massey said. "We'll be on it all week this week for the varsity and the middle school."