Spring Football Check-In: Palo Duro Dons

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Spring football is underway in the Texas panhandle. Three teams from around the area will be participating: Amarillo High, Tascosa, and Palo Duro.

The Palo Duro Dons have their sights set on seeing significant development from the underclassmen on the roster as they host 18 practices over the course of the next few weeks.

“We graduated a lot of guys off of defense.” Palo Duro football head coach Eric Mims said when talking about the important aspects of the spring for the Dons. “Losing guys like Kameron Brown, Parrion Ware, and Triston Moore... We gotta see who can step up and who can fill those shoes.

“... I like getting to see what the guys are about.” Mims continued. “I like seeing my young guys compete with the older guys. I like to see if the freshman can play at the same speed as the juniors because some of those guys are going to be asked to be players for us as sophomores. So, getting them on the field as soon as possible and letting them compete really just gives us an idea of what were gonna look like in August and I don’t want to wait until August to find out.”

One of the players returning next season is junior offensive tackle and team captain Samuel Santos, who echoed a similar message to his head coach as far as the team goals.

“We have a lot of young guys on this team.” Santos said. “I think a big part of spring football this year, our main goal, is just getting on the same page. Learning the plays as quickly as possible. Getting technique right and just being able to work as a team [and] growing that chemistry.”

The Dons will have a spring game on May 19th at Dick Bivins stadium to wrap up football until August.

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