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The back-to-back defending 2A State Champs, the Thatcher Eagles, will begin their spring ball practices starting on Monday.
The Eagles haven’t had a full squad practice yet because of much of the team’s participation in multiple sports, but head coach Sean Hinton said that the Eagles have had a solid amount of guys in the weight room during team workouts “getting after it.”
The Eagles will kick off the spring with combine-style testing that includes 40 yard dash, pro agility shuttle, vertical jump, bench and clean maxes, and a squat rep test.
As practices get underway, the focus for Thatcher will be on the passing game, Hinton said. The Eagles had one yard passing in last year’s 2A State Championship game against Santa Cruz.
Players to Watch
Jack Kortsen is looking to earn the starting quarterback job for the Eagles with Tyler Roebuck graduating this year. Hinton said Kortsen has had a good offseason and ran a 4.4 40-yard dash on Tuesday.
Lineman Quinten Mack is a big-man to keep an eye on this spring. Mack has been doing some serious damage in the weight room this offseason.
The worst I could be is the same as every one else- Arnold Schwarzenegger. #EAGLESTRENGTH pic.twitter.com/MNM80kcdnw
— Quinten Mack (@MackQuinten) May 2, 2018
“Quinten is as strong a high school kid as I’ve seen,” Hinton said. “He hang cleaned 315 (Tuesday) and is around 500 for squat and 350 for bench.”
Additionally, the Eagles will be returning some key pieces of their backfield in 2018. Riley Morris and Quinton Turley combined for almost half of Thatcher’s rushing yards in 2017. Turley also led the team in receiving yards with 246. On defense, Morris had a team-leading 45 total tackles.
