Football practice is officially underway at Greene County and high schools throughout the state. The Iowa High School Athletic Association closely regulates contact this first week. No contact was allowed Monday or today and only helmets and mouth guards are permitted as far as equipment is concerned. Tomorrow shoulder pads are added, as is contact above the waist. The same goes for Thursday and Friday. Full person-to-person contact is allowed on Saturday, and Sunday is a mandatory day away from practice.

New Rams head coach Mitch Moore talks about these non-contact days. “For the players, but for coaches too, we have a lot of guys that are moving well in space, but don’t have to show if they can play well under good contact or not. For us, it’s frustrating because we don’t really know who can do it until the pads are on. Despite no contact, we’ve still be able to get a lot of great work in. Their body composition has changed and they’re able to bend a little better than they were six months ago, and they’re able to accelerate a little better than six months ago. And, we’re learning who can operate in our offense and defense.”

Greene County opens the 2017 season on Friday, Aug. 25 vs. the Knights of Kuemper Catholic at Linduska Field in Jefferson.