Despite 61 days of 90°+ heat this summer, the football team has practiced almost every day since Aug. 10. To them, the heat is just another opponent to beat while trying to adjust to a new coach and prepare for their ’10-’11 season which kicked off on Sept. 3 against Centreville.

“The team looks good,” said head coach Mike Scott, who took over for the legendary Dick Adams this season. “We had a physical first two weeks of practice and a lot of guys were hurt but we’re starting to get some guys back. We’re nowhere near where we need to be though.”

Scott takes over the head coaching position after having served as defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator last year.

“It feels good [to run practices now],” said Scott. “Coach Adams took care of a lot of things and allowed us to coach our kids. We had a lot of freedom, so I learned from him about how to run practice, but there are definitely a few things different. It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of work.”

As far as the team is concerned, the Atoms will rely on incumbent starting quarterback, junior Tony Hysjulien, to lead the offense. Seniors Devin Lawrence and Andy Craig will be the primary receivers, while senior Stephen Cook and junior Tyrek Worrell will lead the rushing attack. Along the offensive line, senior Bob Stevens will start at center, seniors Nick Doumbia and Paul Phongsavan at tackle, and senior Abenezer Anteneh and junior Ali Ali-Musa at guard.

The key to success, however, will not be the offense according to Scott.

“If we want to be successful we’re going to have to play great defense, which I think we definitely can do,” said Scott. “We’ve got to stay healthy and give the offense opportunities to score points. Then we have to get the ball in the hands of our playmakers like DJ Lawrence, Jake Barnes, and Andy Craig.”

The defense will be lead by senior linebackers Yari Mizouri, Mo Bah and Craig, while the secondary will depend on Lawrence and senior JP Jenkins at cornerback, senior Stephen Craig at free safety and junior Adam Wattenbarger at strong safety. Musa and seniors Henry Cooper, Ian Griffin and Joel Hoisington will man the defensive line.

“We’re coming together as offensive and defensive units,” said Stevens. “We’re working hard and we’re excited to have a good season.”

One noticeable absentee from the practice field this summer was senior Melvin Robinson, who moved in with his father in July to play for Maryland state champion Gwynn Park HS. Robinson has led the team’s wide receiving corps for the past two seasons, earning All-Met honors both years. He finishes his career two touchdowns shy of the all-time record at AHS, held by Thomas Fadden.

The Atoms will have their home opener on Sept. 10 against Falls Church, a game in which they should be favored. The team then starts district play on Sept. 16 against South County. Last year, the Stallions were 7-5 and advanced to the Northern Region semi-final, where they lost to Woodson. Woodson should again be a force in the Patriot District, despite the loss of their quarterback last year. Lake Braddock is again projected to be the class of the district after advancing to the state championship game a year ago. Robert E. Lee is projected slightly ahead of AHS, but any given week a team could rise to the top of the district.

“Every game is going to be key for us,” said Scott. “We want to play well and get better each week, which is what I think we have done up to this point.”

The ultimate goal, of course, is to win the district, and with Scott as the new coach and an experienced squad of varsity starters, the team certainly has the potential.