BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College blossomed back to life with the start of preseason practices for its fall sports on the first day of August.
The football team was blessed with a mainly overcast opening session with temperatures around 10 degrees cooler than earlier in the week when an extreme heat warning was in place across the Magnolia State.
"It was a positive day one. I want to thank God for the weather," said Tigers headman Greg Davis. "It was great to see the guys come out here and compete. They were focused and attentive to details. We bounced around and had some good energy."
Northeast will look to fine tune the plays and coverages that were installed during its summer workouts in June. However, Davis also wants his Tigers to use the next couple of weeks to come together as a brotherhood.
"We've got to be a cohesive unit," he said. "We've got a bunch of individuals trying to get to different opportunities, but winning starts with the team. It ultimately comes down to us having each other's back and building respect as a team. Team overcomes everything else."
Approximately 50 newcomers hit the practice field in hopes of securing a spot on the final roster. Among those is three-star defensive back Antonio Parker, who originally signed with Purdue (Ind.) University.
He was a consensus top 20 prospect in Missouri that recorded an interception in the first quarter of the state championship as a junior. Parker plans to lead Northeast to success and through that prosperity increase the number of recruiters checking in on him and his teammates.
"I'm just focused on winning. When I was in high school, I just focused on winning games and it got me to where I could be," Parker said. "My competition out here pushes me. We've got a lot to prove. I'm extremely excited."
Across state highway 145 from the football complex, Reese Moore completed her first organized volleyball practice in some 21 months. She stepped away from the game after enrolling at Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University last year to play basketball.
Moore was a multi-time all-state performer in both sports at Tishomingo County High School. She was also named to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's All-Area team following a senior campaign that included 485 kills, 140 digs and 65 service aces.
"I missed volleyball so much. Just being able to come back and start playing it has been really fun," said Moore. "It was really nice to get in the gym and just see where everybody's at. It's been a long time coming it feels like."
The focal point for the Lady Tigers in their inaugural workout of the new season inside historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum was passing and defensive drills. Northeast also participated in several team building activities as well.
"Overall, we can see that we're moving in the right direction," said Lady Tigers head coach Brenda Mayes. "I can see that they're really coming together as one. They just have a lot of things in common."
Volleyball will begin its third season at the Mississippi/Alabama Crossover from August 22-23 in Fulton. Football gets underway with a road trip to East Central Community College on Thursday, August 28.