BAKER — The countdown to the 2015 high school football season is in full swing.
Teams are wrapping up their summer workouts in preparation for fall practice's official start Aug. 3.
One would be hard pressed to find a football team that has accomplished more than the Baker Gators the past two seasons.
The Gators — who have lost just one regular-season game in that period — are two-time defending District 1-1A champions. Last season they won their playoff game since 2001.
Baker will face a tougher schedule this year, but the Gators are ready for it.
'THE EFFORT IS STARTING TO PAY OFF'
“The summer has been awesome,” senior Austin Davis said. “We’ve had a bunch of guys out here doing a bunch of work. They’ve been trying their hardest, giving 110 percent.
“We’ve got a few guys that have been slacking, but we have been picking them up and they are starting to do more work. Things are starting to look good for us because the effort is starting to pay off.”
Senior Montae Barto said the Gators have had the best summer since he’s been at Baker.
“We’ve bonded,” Barto said. “We have worked so hard this summer. I believe we have made major improvements from this spring with our summer practices.
“We have been competing well. Our team has stepped up. We’ve come so far since I was a sophomore to now.”
'WE ARE FOCUSING ON OUR GAME'
Davis and Barto seem unfazed by the tough schedule.
“I don’t focus so much on the face of the opponent as the work we put in,” Davis said. “Even though we are playing some bigger schools on our schedule, that definitely gives us some incentive to work harder. But instead of focusing on the face (of the opponent), we are focusing on our game and doing the best we can do.”
Barto has his own take on the upgraded schedule.
“I feel like we have more to prove,” he said. “I feel like the schedule we have this year is the hardest schedule Baker has seen in a long time.
“This is a big opportunity for the seniors to step up and for Baker to prove that it’s not just a small 1A school — that we can compete with the best.”
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES
Gator Coach Matt Brunson likes what this team has shown him this summer, and he believes the Gators will be ready for the upcoming season.
"They have worked hard and made strength gains, and we are continuing offensively and defensively to put our packages in,” he said. “We are looking forward to going to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes Camp) July 31 for three days and then to start practice Aug. 1.
“The benefits of FCA camp are life-lasting, but at the same time it helps team building and chemistry. It’s good to get these guys out of their normal environment and keep them together and get some work done, which will lead us right into practice.”
Brunson believes the challenging schedule will motivate the team to do better.
“The schedule is going to be tough, but our goal is to hopefully keep our district championship streak alive,” he said. “Last year, we made it to the second round; we would like to play on Thanksgiving in that semifinal round.
"And after that, anything can happen.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Giving 110%': Gators focus on their game, unfazed by tough schedule