High School Football is Here!

Ready or not the high school football season is here.  Whistles are blowing, coaches voices are tiring and the pads are out. At North Medford's camp the Black Tornado have no shortage of great athletes.

A 3-6 overall record last season and just one win in Southwest Conference play has the North Football Team hungry for more this time around and Head Coach Jeff Olson says he's already seen some great things.

"I read something recently where we're picked to finish at the bottom of the thing, whether we're supposed to pick on the top or on the bottom, I've always believed you don't read about yourself, paper doesn't win games or lose games for you, you guys do and you can't measure what's in here," Olson says.

Quarterback Jordan Ellis will start for the Black Tornado this year.  He began last year at wide receiver and switched mid-season. He says knowing both positions well makes him better.

He says, "You know how people run routes and what they're going to do on certain defenses and if someone jams you, you know what they're going to do when that happens so it helps me a lot to know that i played receiver and now i played quarterback."

With numerous multi-sport athletes on the team Senior Linebacker Kade Peden says offenses beware, the Black Tornado defense is a force to be reckoned with.

"Almost our whole front seven on defense wrestles so i hang out with those guys almost year round and it helps a lot with trust issues, if i've wrestled with guys, i know how they work in the mat room so i know they can get it done on the football field."

Expectations, post-season play- those things aren't too important to Coach Olson right now. He's hoping to see something else.

"What i want to see start to happen is just that belief in the tradition that is Black Tornado Football come back and I'm not talking about end of the year goals, playoffs and that stuff it's start to relive the tradition that is this program."

North will open it's season September 5th at Spiegelberg against the Reynolds Raiders.  All this week we'll have news from football camps around the area.