The Northview Chiefs have put in three days of practice in their shorts and helmets and began working in full pads on Thursday as they begin preparing for their season opener on Sept. 3 in Graceville against the Tigers.

The NHS Chiefs spent the first three days of their fall work on fundamentals and conditioning before they get working on perfecting their offensive and defensive schemes.

Chiefs head coach Sid Wheatley said his team has looked good since taking the practice field Monday.

“Things have been going well,” Wheatley said. “The first three days, we have just been trying to get them understanding what we want them to do.”

As for conditioning, the Chiefs have performed well in the heat after giving it their all during summer workouts.

Wheatley said he has been pleased with how well his players have advanced throughout their workouts.

“We had guys with great off season workouts,” Wheatley said. “They put in a lot of work and have come back stronger and faster. The first couple of days at practice, it didn’t look like we were conditioned like we should be, but the the next day they bounced back and looked great out there.”

Thursday, the Chiefs were able to practice in full pads although they were limited to what they could work on due to the weather.

A storm rolled through during the time of the Chiefs’ practice, which pushed them inside to the gym.

Wheatley said the workout inside allowed to get work in on some tackling drills.

“Our first day in pads was all right with what we could do due to the weather,” Wheatley said. “We were able to get in some work on our fundamental tackling drills to kind of help the guys get honed in making tackles the right way. It was good to get that out of the way, so we could go wide open during our controlled scrimmage on Friday.”

In the Chiefs’ scrimmage held yesterday, the coaching staff will look to see what each side of the ball can do at this point in practice.

Wheatley said he wanted to see ball control from the offense and players swarming to the ball on defense.

“With our offense, we want to be physical and play fast,” Wheatley said. “I hope to see some good ball control from them because we don’t need to be turning the ball over. Defensively, I want to see a lot of enthusiasm and intensity with guys getting to the ball and making stops.”

With just a few days of practice in, the strengths and weaknesses of the Chiefs are already known.

Wheatley said the strength of the team is the players who are quick and agile.

“Our skill players on offense are our strength right now,” Wheatley said. “They have great skills, are quick and agile. They just have to make sure they take care of the football.”

As for a weakness, the Chiefs are looking to replace several players up front.

Wheatley said the inexperience of the offensive line is the main concern facing the team.

“We are young an inexperienced up front replacing all five offensive lineman and a tightend,” Wheatley said. “There is talent at those positions, but they have not been battled tested on a Friday night.”

The Chiefs open the season against the Graceville Tigers on Sept. 3.