The Cathedral High School football team met on the practice field on the school’s campus Saturday morning and there was no weightlifting, no running or 7-on-7 drills to speak of.

Instead, the Green Wave conducted their first padded practice of the season.

“I thought we had some good effort today,” Cathedral coach Chuck Darbonne said.

The practice also marked the first time Darbonne oversaw a padded practice as he takes the reins in his first year as the Green Wave’s head coach.

“I thought we had a lot of intensity and a lot of hard work,” he said. “We didn’t have many mental mistakes as I expected for the first practice, so that’s definitely a positive.”

There were pin-point throws from quarterback Connor Mire, electrifying runs from tailback Greg Moore and some nifty downfield moves from wide receiver Craig Bradley.

While there were plenty of fireworks on the offensive side, the Cathedral defense also provided a few highlights of its own, forcing three turnovers.

“Defensive line wise we had good effort, especially by some of the older guys,” Darbonne said. “Linebackers had some pretty steady play — Robert Hargrave playing middle linebacker, he’s caught on a little faster than what I would have thought. In the secondary, we had some great play by some of the older guys — Derrion Batieste and Craig Bradley.”

“I think it starts the practice on a great note,” Darbonne said. “It gets the kids going; gets the blood flowing.”

Mire completed 14 of 18 passes for 127 yards and four touchdowns.

“Connor did a great job of doing what we ask him to do,” Darbonne said. “We try not to put too much on him, but he’s a very smart kid. He knows the offense in and out.”

Bradley led all wide receivers with four catches for 43 and a score. Batieste chipped in with two touchdown grabs, while William Doss recorded an 11-yard touchdown catch.

“It was a great learning experience, just getting used to the offense” Mire said. “Derrion, Craig and Will all did well today. It was kind of muddy, but we still threw the ball around and did well.”

Moore led the Green Wave with 83 rush yards on 17 carries and a score.

Cathedral will open its 2016 campaign Aug. 19 against St. Aloysius.

“It’s right there,” Mire said. “Of course you want make it far, but we also want to have fun. My goal is to make it to state; that’s my goal every year.”