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After two full weeks of Spring practice, Springwood’s football team finally got the opportunity to hit someone in a different uniform.

The Wildcats are coming off of a dominant first season in eight-man football where they competed in AISA’s first-ever eight-man football championship. Springwood recently faced Lafayette Christian in a spring matchup with the game finishing as a 16-16 tie. 

The two teams had never faced each other on the gridiron, but it is a matchup we could see more of moving forward. 

“It would be a good rivalry for us moving forward,” Coach Joey Burch said in a recent interview with the Valley Times-News. “Overall, it was just a very positive night for both teams I believe. 

The Wildcats led the Cougars 16-0 at the end of three quarters. In the fourth quarter, coach Burch looked to play some of his younger and more inexperienced players. 

“We went in with the idea that we would play our varsity for the first three quarters,” Coach Burch said. “In the fourth quarter, we wanted to get some of the inexperienced players in there. 

The varsity defense for Springwood impressed in the spring game. The defense was able to shutout the Cougars for most of the game. The defense forced multiple turnovers and consistently set up the offense with good field position. 

The Wildcats had multiple big plays negated due to penalties, but overall they were able to consistently move the ball. Coach Burch was impressed with the performance from his varsity players. 

“Luke Hudson did a good job at quarterback for us,” Coach Burch said. “We played nine or ten guys in that varsity segment and most of those guys could play anywhere.” 

The Wildcats still have things to work on going forward. Burch used the opportunity in the spring game to work on the depth of his team, but it’s still something he believes they will have to improve upon before the fall. 

“We just don’t have the depth at linemen and at a couple of other key positions,” Coach Burch said. “I mean, that’s why we’re playing eight-man football.”

The spring game gave the opportunity for some inexperienced Wildcats to get on the football field. It also gave other players the chance to play football for the first time. 

“We had some kids from Congo and Germany that had never played football,” Coach Burch said. “It was a great experience for those guys to get out and say they were able to play some American football.”