Excessive heat forced some local high school football teams indoors on Thursday, the first official day of practice for the 2024 season under Virginia High School League rules.
Despite having to adjust plans due to the summer sun, the enthusiasm of two new head coaches was still apparent.
Shane Ludden ran his first practice as Massaponax’s head coach with the kind of vigor reminiscent of his father, who oversaw an explosive triple-option offense for decades at the school.
Ludden was hands-on during offensive drills, his booming voice reducing everything else to background noise as he ran through what seemed like a mini-workshop on technique and terminology.
“I’m a hands-on guy,” said Ludden, who was the Panthers’ starting quarterback from 2006-07 and served as their offensive coordinator for the past four seasons. “I love this game, and I’m not just going to stand around and be a figurehead. I’m going to be out there working with my quarterbacks and other skill-position players, showing them what I want them to do.”
It would be difficult for anyone to blame Ludden for his approach to the Massaponax gig. The 34-year-old was named as the Panthers’ new head coach in March, replacing his father, Eric, who retired after 26 years at the helm. And with that appointment comes lofty expectations.
Eric Ludden was the only football coach Massaponax had ever known. He took over the program when the school opened in 1998, and, by 2003 the Panthers were playing in the Group AAA, Division 5 state championship game.
Ludden would go on to rack up 208 wins at Massaponax, guiding the Panthers to nine district or conference titles, five regional championships and six state playoff berths. His teams won 10 games or more eight times and qualified for the playoffs in 17 of his 26 seasons on the sidelines.
“It’s not a great feeling following in the footsteps of a legend,” Shane Ludden said with a smile. “But [Eric] set a very solid foundation for me to be stepping onto. Because of that, it’s very exciting to be out here.”
Massaponax had some success tiptoeing around the heat to make it onto the practice field. Ludden and his staff ran an outdoor session from 6-8:30 a.m. while temperatures were in the 70s. Their second session of the day, which was scheduled for 5-8 p.m., had to start off in the school’s gymnasium because temps were still in the mid-90s.
However, the Panthers were able to take the field around 6:30 and finish up outdoors.
“I can’t complain,” Ludden said. “We were able to get in a good, solid practice in the morning, and fortunately we didn’t have to stay inside too long later in the day.”
Just down the road at Spotsylvania High School, Conway Reid oversaw his first practice in charge of the program that he led to a Group AA, Division 4 state title in 1994.
“It’s a big deal,” said Reid, the starting quarterback on the Knights’ 1994 championship squad. “It’s my alma mater. … I went here, all my kids went here and my whole family went here. Today it feels just a little bit more real.”
Reid took over as the Knights head coach in March, replacing Jeremy Jack, who went 38-34 in seven years at the helm. He’s spent the last decade as an assistant coach at the school, including serving as Spotsylvania’s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.
“I couldn’t come into a better situation here, knowing the staff and the administration,” Reid said. “I learned a lot from [Jack] in the last seven years. He was a great coach and great mentor for me.”
Unlike Massaponax, the Knights did not schedule a morning practice. As a result, they were forced to start their scheduled 5-7:30 p.m. session indoors just as the Panthers did.
“It’s just part of what you have to account for this time of the year,” Reid said of the heat-related safety precautions. “You just have to be prepared to battle the elements and adapt for the good of the kids.”
Spotsylvania finished 4-6 last season. The Knights last qualified for the playoffs in 2019. Riverbend and Caroline are also breaking in first-year head coaches in Ed Webb and Terry Alexander, respectively.
Eagles, Cyclones kick off practice with lofty expectations
At Colonial Forge, seventh-year head coach John Brown took the field with a team that he hopes can make a deep playoff run this fall.
“We have a lot of good players back on both sides of the ball,” Brown said. “And they’re all great kids, so that makes it really fun and exciting.”
Among the Eagles’ top returnees are running back Josiah Bryson and offensive lineman Jake Mangano — seniors who are receiving attention from Division I colleges.
“Josiah and Jake are both scholarship-level players and exceptional leaders,” Brown said.
Forge also returns juniors Brock Brimhall and TaySean Jones at quarterback and wide receiver, respectively.
The Eagles finished 10-2 last season. They opened the campaign on a six-game winning streak before dropping a 31-13 decision to eventual Commonwealth District champion Mountain View. They responded to that setback by rattling off four straight victories, including a 49-26 triumph over Gainesville in the first round of the Region 6B playoffs.
Forge’s season ended with a 45-16 loss to Class 6 state champion Freedom-Woodbridge in the regional semifinals.
“There are a lot of teams in the area that will be improved from last year,” Brown said of his team’s outlook this fall. “I don’t think this season will be an easy one for any one team, and all of us are going to have to play each other tough.”
At Eastern View, Brian Lowery is set to field the most experienced team he’s had since becoming the Cyclones’ head coach in 2021.
“I think this year has a chance to be a big one for us,” Lowery said. “This group of seniors is the class of freshmen that came in with me when I got the job in 2021. It’s been a lot of fun to grow with these young men.”
Leading that group of seniors is Virginia Tech commit Brett Clatterbaugh, a tackling machine who’s recorded over 300 career tackles from his middle linebacker spot.
Fellow senior Jaheim Frye returns at running back Eastern View after scoring 10 touchdowns a season ago.
The Cyclones also return junior standouts AP Hull and Will Butler. Hull threw 28 touchdown passes last year, while Butler hauled in 12 of those and racked up 767 yards as his top target.
“It’s exciting to be back at it,” Lowery said. “I think football is a year-round sport pretending to be a fall sport, so it’s exciting to finally be back with the team to start realizing the results of our hard work this offseason. The kids have worked hard and bought into training, and I’m excited to see that pay off.”
Eastern View finished 9-2 last season, losing 42-25 to Dinwiddie in the first round of the Region 4B playoffs. The Cyclones will be challenged in the Battlefield District by defending champion King George and a Courtland team with several standouts returning.
