Things just never seem to have a way of working out.

When the Cathedral Green Wave opened up fall camp in 2003, the team was loaded with skill people, had a solid quarterback but was about the smallest team around for miles.

At the first fall practice of 2004 on Monday, it was just the opposite. The Green Wave has size to play up front but lacks the key people at skill positions.

This much is certain, however &045; the offense won’t change.

&uot;We’re going to still spread it out and make everybody cover the whole field,&uot; CHS head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;We’ll still try to spread it out and hit that quick pass. We’ve got some guys we think can do a good job. It’s a matter of getting them experience. We’ll make some mistakes early, but once we get it worked out, we feel good about our chances.&uot;

Even though all but one of the starting skill players from last year’s team graduated, the Green Wave won’t stray from a system that was so successful in 2003. The offense implemented by assistant coach Bert Smith worked wonders at the Class 1A level and caught people by surprise early in the season.

It can be argued the offense was a key factor in the team making its first appearance in the postseason since 1998 when Von Hutchins &045; now with the Indianapolis Colts &045; started at quarterback.

But to pick up where last year’s team left off, there’s a big transition waiting to happen. Gone are quarterback, running back, tailback and two of the three receivers. The holdover receiver, Andrew Ellard, will likely move to the running back slot, while returning center Drew Burns will move to wideout.

Three are vying for the quarterback spot &045; Matthew Hall, Preston Hicks and Patrick McDonough.

Whoever gets the nod there, they may have more support from the front line than last year.

&uot;Right now our objective is to find a quarterback,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We’ve got a lot of young linemen, and a lot of them are sophomores and freshmen. We don’t have much depth at the skill positions. Right now it’s hard for us to find a lot of depth and who’s going to back up our skill people.&uot;

Then there’s the issue of finding the right people on defense to contain the opponent. That was something the Green Wave struggled at last year with their lack of size and at times late in the season struggled against the run as games wore on.

Nearly the entire front will be replaced after losing six seniors out of its 4-4 setup and linebacker Brock Vines transferred to Adams Christian. Now the Green Wave will employ a five-man front with either two or three linebackers.

&uot;Last year we just got run over,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Hopefully we’re a little bigger and have more down linemen. The main thing is we’ve got to tackle. It doesn’t matter what defense you play. Last year we didn’t do that well, and tackling is something we want to do a better job at. In our league, you’ve got to stop the run.&uot;

The Green Wave will go this week in helmets and shorts and work on mainly conditioning and teaching schemes and roles. Once the 40-or-so players out get in full gear next week, there is going to be less teaching and more producing.

The Green Wave will play in the Vidalia jamboree Aug. 28 before opening the season Sept. 3 at St. Joseph of Madison.

Block

The Bears started two-a-day workouts on Monday, the first official day for schools in the LHSAA to hold full practices. It was the first step in a rebuilding project of sorts after losing a quality group of seniors last year that was key in the team’s appearance in the Class 1A quarterfinals.

With just five seniors, the Bears will go at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. today and this week.

&uot;We had all the kids in this summer,&uot; third-year BHS head coach Chad Harkins said. &uot;They’ve been working hard. We’ve got some young players this season. We might not win a lot of games, but we’ll get out and give our best. We’ve got some good young athletes. Every kid we have will be pretty much back next year.&uot;

The Bears will likely have Matt Johnson at quarterback this fall after started as a sophomore but broke his collarbone in the season opener against Cathedral. Then that impressive size the Bears had up front is mostly gone.

There is, however, some size coming up in the younger grades. The Bears will have about 35 players on roster but still may not be small up front with newcomers Justin Grant (6-4, 205) and Wes White (6-1, 225) up front.

&uot;I look for our numbers to go up a lot next year,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;We’ve got a junior high program, and a lot of kids are out there. I look for a lot of kids coming through ninth grade next year. We feel like we may be able to dress out 50 kids next year.&uot;

Vidalia

The Vikings went to full practice for the first time Monday as per LHSAA rules. The Vikings spent last week in conditioning drills as did Ferriday before going full gear on Monday.

The Vikings opened camp with 21 seniors, five more than a year ago, but with very little experience after losing 10 starters on offense. They enter with a new quarterback in Brett Hinson and a new running back in speedy Ken Johnson.