Summer Notes: Bedford High School Football

If the summer was any indication, the Bedford High School football team is going to hit the ground running Wednesday morning.

The Bulldogs, along with 57 other high school football programs around the Granite State, will get the fall sports season started with the first practices of the new school year. And after an offseason that saw an incredibly high participation rate, Bedford Derek Stank is encouraged.

"We had 80 percent of the team in, we had great weight room sessions, we were good at our 7-on-7s," Stank said. "We've done everything we needed to to get ready, now e just need to show up and play some actual football."

While the numbers are a little down compared to years past, the Bulldogs will still have one of the largest programs in the state, with 95-100 kids expected to show up on Wednesday. Stank attributes that drop to a smaller freshmen class the last two years.

The biggest challenge of the preseason will be replacing the entire offensive line. Bedford graduated all five starters from a year ago, but there are a handful of players who gained experienced last season.

"We have a decent amount of returners," Stank said. "But that's an unknown, who is going to take over those spots and how they work together."

The Bulldogs have already started on that process in the offseason.

"One of the biggest things in the offseason training is developing a team," Stank said. "They learn to push each other and fight through the trials and the stress. When we show up on Wednesday, it's not going to feel like the first day.

"We'll finally get to put a helmet on, but not a ton different. We're coming in already running, we're not starting from a dead zero."

Bedford has scrimmages against Souhegan (Aug. 17) and Bishop Guertin (Aug. 20), along with the Queen City Jamboree on Aug. 26, where the Bulldogs will face Nashua North at 5:30 p.m.