Bedford football's inner battles will prepare it for D1

AMHERST - Anyone wondering if Bedford High School has the numbers to potentially be a competitive football program in Division I only had to look at the sideline for Wednesday's scrimmage at Souhegan.

The Bulldogs, dressed in black practice jerseys, could have lined up from end zone to end zone and blotted out the sun.

"We had 62 kids, three days a week, for our summer workouts," Bedford coach Kurt Hines said. "We have 120-plus in the program. It was out busiest offseason ever."

Bedford may have the numbers to compete with the likes of Pinkerton and Manchester Central - two teams the Bulldogs will play for the first time this season - but is there skill in those numbers? That remains to be seen, but Hines is impressed with the competitions that have already started in camp.

The Bulldogs were hit hard by graduation, but all that's done is create battles for spots. In the long run, that can only be good for Bedford.

"Competition breeds success and there is more competition at every position," Hines said. "Last year, we had some kids, those guys who graduated, who hands down, were starters. There is competition at every spot. The kids are having to step up every day in practice."

Bedford was facing another team for the first time this year in Souhegan, but the coaching staff told the players to think of the scrimmage as a glorified practice. While there were things Hines liked, there were a few things he was surprised to see.

"We had some guys lining up offsides, we had a back in motion when he shouldn’t have been," he said. "We’ve just got to perfect what we’re doing. I think our ones and twos looked good, but still have some work to do, obviously. We’ll watch the film and I’ll know more."

The Bulldogs won't have to wait long to get back at it, as they'll host Nashua North for another scrimmage at 10 a.m. on Saturday.