The first day of football practice mean a game isn’t too far behind.

Warren Central players looked pumped to be back on the field in a true practice environment Monday. This is one of the first times the Vikings have been on the field to run drills and in-game situations since their May spring game.

For head coach Josh Morgan, the first practice was exciting and he was able to see improvements in his team.

“We threw a lot at them. Next Friday we’re playing in a jamboree so we have to do that,” Morgan said. “We did as much as we could do without pads on. I thought we were in shape. I thought we were flying around really good and I thought for the most part we knew where we were going offensively and defensively.”

The Vikings held a high intensity practice and Morgan wants to continue this level of practice throughout the week.

Morgan used his time to work on special teams, review on the past season and worked on a lot of schematics, things he couldn’t do over the summer.

With a game quickly approaching, it helps give the players a sense of urgency about the season.

“We don’t have time to waste at practice. We don’t have time to walk through the motions because it’s here, that’s the sense of urgency our coaches are attacking it with, and our players as well. We have to be ready to go and our urgency has to be there. That dictates the motivation,” Morgan said.

The Vikings endured a transition from summer conditioning workouts to their first day of practice.

There was no slowing down or walkthroughs to explain plays.

The players approached practice as if it were a game and were excited to start the year.

Morgan wants to see his team continue to make plays as the season progresses. If the Vikings get on the same page and become consistent, he thinks his team has the talent to be explosive offensively and defensively.

The team has made some strides in getting to where they need to be, but still a lot of work can done.

Morgan said there wasn’t a lot of drop off in play from their spring game till now and thought his players had an excellent spring game.

The lack of drop off is exciting to Morgan.

“Now we can keep building on the level that we’ve gotten too. As long as we don’t drop and keep climbing and progressing, then that’s going to get us to the point where we need to be,” Morgan said.