Norwalk, Willard see summer progress

NORWALK — Slow progress is better than none at all. A year ago, the Norwalk High School football team looked admittedly off at times in 7-on-7 passing scrimmages. But that was mainly because the Truckers were in the midst of switching to the Wing-T offense. That meant working on an offense that is primarily run-based and known for misdirection, pulling linemen, and deceptive handoffs. One year later, things are looking different. The Truckers competed in their third passing scrimmage of the summer on a hot, muggy Wednesday at Contractors Stadium against Elyria Catholic, Cloverleaf, and Willard. "You don't see everything in our offense or defense, but we again saw very good things out of our pass game for our third straight time," NHS head coach Keith Mora said. Norwalk previously competed in morning 7-on-7s at Elyria on July 1 and July 8. "It really helps us build confidence in that part of our game, and I think we lacked that last year because we were trying to learn a new system," Mora said. "We know a lot more now, so it allows us to advance more things in our pass game. "We've done well in all three of these so far, but obviously it's not real football with no line or a pass rush and all those things. It looks real good until you have to pick up a blitzer in a real game." But that doesn't mean there weren't highlights to walk away with. "Our receivers ran nice routes, and I thought Brady (Singer) made some good reads and throws," Mora said. "We saw three teams who each gave us different looks, which was nice. "Defensively I think we've been ahead of the offense at times," he added. "But today we saw two teams we've not spent a lot of time with yet this summer, so that put us in some tough alignment positions and gave us opportunities to learn, which is a good thing to have for our kids in the middle of July." On Friday, the Truckers will have their third day of acclimation in helmets for 2.5 hours in the evening. After two more camp days next Monday and Tuesday, Norwalk will have one more 7-on-7 passing scrimmage. That one will include the crosstown St. Paul Flyers, along with Margaretta and Seneca East at 6 p.m. at Contractors Stadium. The Truckers then have six more camp days in full pads in preparation for the first official day of fall practice, which will be Aug. 3 for them. Norwalk then hosts Lorain in a practice scrimmage in the morning on Aug. 8 before heading to Shelby for a one-half scrimmage on Aug. 14. The Truckers then host Toledo Start on Aug. 21 in the season opener. "We're excited to get to that third day of acclimation on Friday and put the shoulder pads on after next week," Mora said. "It's going to be great to start to get that feeling again of what it's like to play football." Willard progress The Crimson Flashes arrived in Norwalk Wednesday night in the midst of another makeover with another coaching change. Eli Fisher is a 2022 St. Paul graduate, and the young head coach is tasked with trying to turn things around as Willard enters a new era of athletics. Not only are the Crimson Flashes joining the Northern 10 Conference this fall, but they are also looking for their first winning season since 2005. Fisher will be the fifth different head coach over the previous 11 seasons at Willard. "We're making progress, and we're getting there, but that's what this is — a work in progress," Fisher said. "We've been really happy with the kids' effort. They are showing up with good attitudes and responding to the coaching." After spending four years on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Fisher said every day has been a learning experience since being hired in December. "There is a lot of stuff that comes with the job that you might know to expect, but until you have to actually do it, then it's different," Fisher said. "But I'm definitely learning, and it's been fun. Fortunately, I have a great coaching staff that takes some work off me, like Coach (Larry) Fisher and Coach (Jason) Ratliff. "But we also have some younger ambitious coaches who also want to be part of something here." As for Wednesday, Fisher said the Willard coaches stressed to their players that the passing scrimmage was just more practice. "And the main objective is to improve," he said. "But it went well. Our kids had to go against some very good athletes from some programs with a strong football history. But it was good." It also wasn't lost on Fisher that Wednesday was a "homecoming" in a roundabout way. "It was different, cool in a way to be back at Whitney Field," he said. "Some of the kids were asking me if this was where I played. But I'm so into Willard at this point; it wasn't like a culture shock. "Between myself and Larry and Jason, we spent a lot of time playing and coaching here," Fisher added. "And it was good to see some of the St. Paul coaches who were here for a little bit. But it was unique, for sure." Willard heads to the Western Reserve passing scrimmage on July 23 before it starts official practice. The Flashes then head to New London at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7 for a practice scrimmage. Willard will host Ridgedale on Aug. 14 in a one-half scrimmage before hosting South Central in the season opener on Aug. 21 at Terry King Stadium.