You'll never be able to tell exactly how good a team or player is going to be based on watching them in one 7-on-7 passing drill or a couple practices.
You can definitely get a pretty good idea of where they stand though, and based on what I saw from Marietta Tiger quarterback Cody Westbrook there's a real possibility for him to surpass his totals of a year ago when he threw for a school record 2,203 yards and 15 touchdowns.
If the Tiger line can provide enough pass protection Westbrook has the arm to guide the orange and black to some success on offense.
Watching the Tigers in their 7-on-7 with Morgan it was amazing to see just how well Westbrook is throwing the ball this year.
Every pass the Tiger' southpaw made was a beautiful spiral and with the exception of just two of his 31 attempts every pass he made was within arm's reach of the receiver.
On one play down the sidelines Westbrook completed a pass to receiver Sean Munfield who was in double coverage with a corner and safety both running step for step.
Westbrook put the ball right between the defenders and into Munfield's arms for a touchdown.
Carson Palmer couldn't have made a better placement of that pass than Westbrook did.
Those are the kind of plays Tiger fans can look forward to on the gridiron this season.
Westbrook tossing to Munfield could be a deadly connection, but there are other great receivers for the Tigers too.
Last season Munfield often drew double coverage, which allowed Johnny Groom to lead the team in receiving with 713 yards and six TDs.
If Munfield gets the same coverages this year Perry Wheeler, Morgan Wynn or Zane Eschbaugh could be the one to step up.
And speaking of great quarterbacks the Frontier Cougars have one of their own in sophomore Corey Fickiesen.
Pressed into starting nine games as a freshman last year when Tyler Harris suffered a broken leg Fickiesen threw for 1,209 yards for Frontier.
Fickiesen's favorite target from a year ago was Davey Thomas, who caught 47 passes for a school record 912 yards.
Thomas graduated but Fickiesen has several other options to throw to this season which could guide the Cougars to some wins on the gridiron.
For the Warren Warriors the biggest bright spot in 2007 was the special teams play.
Seth Wellspring returned a kick a school record 100 yards and Andrew Dunfee also provided some punch.
The Fort Frye Cadets suffered a string of injuries that would make any team cringe but are excited about the upcoming season with new head coach Eric Huck.
The unfortunate part about each of these four schools is that they all finished under .500 in 2007. Only Waterford and Belpre had winning records in Washington County last year.
Hopefully this year is the year when all six county schools return to form and dominate the field the way they once did.
Who knows, maybe the Sept. 12 matchup between the Tigers and Warriors will be the game that decides who wins the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League.
Kevin Pierson is a Marietta Times sports reporter, and can be reached at 376-5440, or at kpierson@mariettatimes.com
