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It’ll be year two in 8-man for the Springwood football program, but the Wildcats finally have some stability for the first time in a while despite coming off of a state championship loss.

Second year head coach Joey Burch took over the program last summer but now has a chance to spend spring with the team.

Springwood will have eight practices starting May 1 and will play Lafayette Christian in a spring game on May 12.

Although the Wildcats are losing a lot of production this year, Burch feels good about some of the new players joining the team.

“We had a lot of seniors that are graduating,” Burch said.

“We’re going to have a lot of big shoes to fill from our team last year. That’s why we want to have a really good spring, and we’re trying to find some guys. We feel good about some guys who are coming out who haven’t played in the past. We’re excited about putting the team together. We have a couple new students we’re excited about as well.”

Burch is excited to have a full offseason with multiple scrimmages.

“It was huge that we were able to work with Lafayette Christian,” Burch said.

“The game is when everyone is ready for school to be over with. When they don’t have a game to look forward to, it’s kind of tough to get them out there and work them hard. We’ve been very competitive with Lafayette Christian in baseball and basketball, and we’d like to keep that going.”

The game won’t be a full game, but it will be a chance for both teams to get some game experience.

Burch wants to get on the field as early as possible.

“We got such a late start last year,” Burch said.

“We wanted to get the kids excited about playing. We felt like that would help lead into summer workouts. We can still scrimmage in the fall.”

Springwood football has several plans for the spring and summer, including a 7-on-7 trip to Auburn and  possible 7-on-7 game with Chambers Academy.

The Wildcats also scheduled a game with Calhoun County for week zero.

Burch is still trying to get his program into a comfortable place.

“Last year was a lot of growing,” Burch said.

“I think we want to solidify that and make sure kids know what’s going on on both sides of the ball. Finding players is a big thing. Luke Hudson is coming back at quarterback. We have some skill guys coming back. We just wanted a head start on filling those gaps. We just want to get people excited.”

Spring practice will be full contact, and three of the practices will only be in shells.

Three practices will be in full pads while the final practice will just be in shorts.