ON THE MARK
D. MARK MITCHELL
The OHS Volleyball team is currently practicing for its season opener on Aug. 24 against Central in the Mainstreet Gym at OHS. Coach Robin Roberts starts her seventh season as head coach of the Lady Bulldog volleyball team. Roberts is hoping this year’s team will learn how to improve in order to advance in the playoffs.
Appearing on my morning sports show, “On the Mark” (Fox Sports 910AM), Roberts seemed excited about her players on the team and the potential for them to come together and have a good season.
The following is a summary of Roberts’ interview.
This years’ team returns three seniors, all seeing significant playing time last year. Add two transfer students from Lee-Scott and Goshen who played volleyball last season, and two more underclass players from the junior varsity, and you can see the team has some experience. One thing of importance the team has been emphasizing this offseason has been learning your main position and your teammates. The more the teams plays together, the more they should improve. Roberts opened summer workouts to every player on both the OMS and OHS volleyball team. Seven middle school players took advantage of the time and joined in to workout – providing invaluable training time.
Roberts praised the amount of time the players spend in the new eight room.
“I am very pleased to see the girls committed to working in the weight room,” she said. “This will help us on the court and win matches.”
There are 27 student athletes in the OHS volleyball program; Eleven players will be on the varsity come the start of the season. Roberts can pull up a player from the junior varsity to the varsity — or the opposite — at any time, but tries to keep the same 11 players on the varsity.
The following is the 2021-22 Opelika Volleyball roster:
OHS varsity volleyball opens the 2021 season with three straight home matches on Aug. 24 against Central, Aug. 26 vs Russell County and Sept. 1 versus Beauregard, respectively. The first road match is Sept. 2 at Central, followed by Sept. 8 at Smiths Station, Sept. 9 in Alex City against Benjamin Russell, Sept. 28 at Valley, Sept. 29 at Eufaula, Oct. 2 playing in Smiths Station’s Tournament, Oct. 5 hosting Eufaula and the last regular season game on Oct. 7 at Beauregard. The area tournament is scheduled for Oct. 11 to 15.
OPELIKA FOOTBALL OPENS AGAINST CALLAWAY, FRIDAY AT BULLDOG STADIUM
The 2021 high school football season begins Friday night for the Opelika Bulldogs, although some schools opt to play Thursday (Aug. 19).
OHS begins the season with two straight home games, Calloway Friday night and Auburn next Friday (Aug. 27). Both kickoff at 7 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium.
The OHS football team opens the 2021 season on Friday against Callaway High School (Georgia) inside Bulldog Stadium at 7 p.m. Bulldog head coach Eric Speakman (starting his fourth at OHS) appeared on my radio show “On the Mark” last Friday, discussing practice and what he expects against Callaway.
Speakman said the team has gone through two good weeks of practice. Several players are playing multiple positions, on offense and defense. The quarterback position is still undecided, but the two seniors should win the job. As of now, Jackson Bates seems to be a bit ahead of JT McArdle, but Speakman said multiple people will take snaps during the first game. The offensive and defensive line have seven to eight players rotating, the running backs will be by committee. The special teams are set: Jackson Bates and George Meyers will punt, Charles Gagliano and Mo Forbes will handle the kicking duties and four players are battling for the long snapper.
Fans can buy tickets at Bubbas Medicine Shop and Victory Design or at the Bulldog Stadium ticket office starting at 5:30 p.m. OHS football games can be heard on WKKR 97.7 Kicker FM, or online at www.kickfm.com or on the iheartradio app, pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m. with kickoff at 7 p.m..
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeart Media, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1310, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and the Dixie Boys Baseball state director.