NYSSA – Football jamborees are a funny thing. As a coach, you want your kids hitting someone other than the teammates from the last few weeks. You want to see what works and what still needs work. But, you don’t want to show too much, especially when league opponents are joining the jamboree.

The Burns Hilanders and the Ontario Tiger football teams joined host Nyssa for jamboree play on Friday. With fans sitting in the stands, the teams took to the field to run an equal number of plays both on offense and defense. Playing on half the field, players rotated in and out while coaches surveyed the plays.

Host Bulldog coach Lee Long was pleased with his Dawgs on both sides of the ball. He expressed a number of positives for the upcoming season.

“We have good numbers of kids coming out this year,” said Long. “We still have a tremendous amount of work to do before the first game and especially before league, but we are coming along.”

With the Bulldog defense on the field, Long was busy providing advice to his linebacker contingent while talking about the upcoming season.

“We know there is some good teams in our league this year,” he said. “We just need to continue to improve and fix the problems that come up.”

Long will have an idea where his team stands next week as the Bulldogs welcome the 4A Baker Bulldogs to town for a Bulldog versus Bulldog game.

“We have a tough schedule this year and opening with a team like Baker will give us a good idea of our season,” Long said.

The Bulldog showdown is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.