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By Noah Patheja

The Valley Rams have started spring practice in their third year under head coach Adam Hunter. Valley is coming off of two straight 4-5 seasons, but they’ve also moved from 6A to 5A classification.

Hunter knows he’s facing a challenge this year despite moving down in classification.

“We lost eight seniors,” Hunter said. “We’ve got some shoes to fill offensively. We lost a running back and a couple lineman, but our young guys have stepped up. Our upcoming seniors are really setting the tone in practice.”

When interviewed, Valley had only practiced twice with pads this Spring, but Hunter pointed out what he liked so far.

“They’ve been really, really up-tempo,” Hunter said. “They’ve been getting after it. They’ve bought into being really physical. That’s a good sign of leadership from our upcoming seniors.”

One of the players Hunter mentioned is wide receiver Kenneth Stephens.

“Kenneth is a senior and has started since his freshman year,” Hunter said. “He’s a guy that has a motor that doesn’t stop. Once he hits that football field, he’s nonstop for four quarters. At the end of the game, we’re having to help that kid off the field because he’s so exhausted.”

As for their play style, Hunter understands he has to build around their upcoming junior quarterback Cam’Ron Dooley.

“Cam started four games for us last year before he got injured.” Hunter said. “He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He can throw it. He can run it. We’ve got to allow him to get out of the pocket and throw, but we also have to let him read it and pull it and run it if he has to.”

One thing Hunter is hoping to improve upon entering the fall is his offensive line play. The Rams will continue spring practice until May 20 when they play Loachapoka High in a scrimmage.