Jamborees kick off season

When contemplating how big Friday's fall jamboree game against Florence will be for his Deshler football team, Tigers coach John Mothershed came to a curious conclusion.

"I didn't know you could put 'big' next to a 'jamboree,'" Mothershed said.

And that's coming from a coach whose jamboree game at Florence, set to kickoff at 6 p.m. Friday at Braly Stadium, understandably could be considered one of the more compelling preseason match-ups in the state.

Coming off a state runner-up finish, Deshler is No. 1 in Class 4A in the Alabama Sports Writers preseason poll. Meanwhile, Florence, coming off the first regional title in school history, is ranked eighth in Class 6A. Also, consider the history of by-gone rivalries between Florence and Tuscumbia schools and it might not be a surprise to see a large crowd at Braly, as Mothershed hopes.

Still, Mothershed and Florence coach Alvin Briggs agreed that jamboree games are more of a practice and an opportunity to allow players to get licks on guys in different colored jerseys rather than any kind of real contest.

"I don't put a lot of stock in them at all," Mothershed said. "It's kind of a glorified scrimmage. You don't want to get so jacked up for a jamboree that you forget that next week (when the season officially starts) is the one that counts. You want to compete hard against another team, and that's what I'll be looking for. It sounds weird, but winning is kind of secondary in a jamboree."

With that in mind, Briggs said he doesn't expect his starters to play for an entire half.

"It's a dress rehearsal," Briggs said. "Everybody's building it up as a No. 1 versus a No. 8, but we're playing it for what it is."

Mostly, it's a chance to get film of some of his players lining up against a real opponent and an opportunity to work on special scenarios with linemen, Briggs said, but by no means is it a big game.

Florence will have plenty of those, thanks to its region expanding to nine teams, as the Falcons begin the season with eight consecutive region games.

One benefit of the jamboree for Deshler, which has relied on its Wing-T offense to become a perennial contender in Class 4A, could be a chance to test its new spread package under new offensive coordinator Jerrod Helms, Mothershed said. Mothershed, whose team opens the season at Class 5A No. 4 Russellville on Aug. 29, also hopes to give his defense a kind of simulation of Russellville's multiple spread offense by lining up against Florence, which often operates from the shotgun.

Russellville will host North Ridge and Bob Jones in a three-team jamboree beginning with junior varsity play at 6 p.m. Friday. Each team will play a half against each of the other two.

Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said he plans to pull starters while trying to work in his first and second string against each opponent, but added not to look too much into whether 6-foot-6 transfer Joey Howe or junior Jake Ward, a back-up last season, starts.

"I could start one this game and the other the next," Goodwin said. "This is just a good dress rehersal, which is one of the reasons we're playing a 6A school. I don't really look at the score. I look at if we're competing and if we're lined up right and doing the right thing assignments. Anytime we go out there and win, we like it, but if we lost (in the jamboree) I won't get too shook up about it."

First-year Muscle Shoals coach Scott Basden, whose team will host Curry at 7 p.m. Friday, subscribes to a different philosophy. Basden, who led Cordova to the Class 3A championship last season, couldn't recall the last time a team he coached lost a jamboree game.

"I think anytime you cut on that scoreboard and keep score, you should try to win," Basden said. "If you're not trying to win then why play it."

Bryan App can be reached at 740-5730 or bryan.app@timesdaily.com.