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With the warm outdoor weather, it can be easy to forget that the start of high school football in the Commonwealth is just one month away. 

However, plenty of teams were looking to improve in Winchester on Saturday. 

Cardinal Stadium hosted the Battle on Boonesboro once more over the weekend, allowing multiple varsity and junior varsity teams statewide and elsewhere to participate. 

“[We] try to get better daily,” said George Rogers Clark Head Football Coach Joe Chirico. “Everybody wants to win, and that’s great.” 

More than a dozen Kentucky high school teams were present, including Pendleton County, DuPont Manual, Madison Southern, West Jessamine, Pikeville, Great Crossing, Collins, Mercer County, Woodford County, Bryan Station, and Central Hardin – who will play the Cards in their home opener on Friday, August 23rd. 

Jordan Ray, the Cards’ Offensive Coordinator, played a significant role in planning the event over several months. 

Specifically, the Battle on Boonesboro hosted 7-on-7 tournaments and the Big Man Challenge. 

The latter provided different events—such as bench presses and tire flips—that offensive and defensive linemen from different schools could compete in. 

In his first year as offensive line coach for the Cardinals, Grant Ray was asked what he looks forward to seeing in year one from his players. 

“Maturity and just growing in general,” he said. “They’ve been very good this offseason coming into June and July.” 

Defensive line coach Andrew Soucy explained how he felt the competition would help athletes. 

“The big thing is getting guys in there and competing against top teams,” he said. “[We want] to see where…the grip strength is…and just get a little [competitive] fire going before the season starts.”

At other locations in and around the complex of Cardinal Stadium, schools participated in 7-on-7 events. 

John Flynn, Head Coach of the junior varsity and freshman team, explained. 

“7-on-7 is mainly all of our skilled players, and it’s all passing,” he said, noting that rules were slightly different compared to a regular game. “It gets all of our routes [learned], and the defense is playing their coverage.” 

Skill position players include quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive backs, and linebackers. 

Flynn also noted that the event was beneficial for more than just players and coaches involved. 

“It’s big for our community,” he said. “It’s great to have all these teams in here looking at our stadium and showing off what we got.”