Bainbridge High School Bearcats head  football coach Ed Pilcher likes the way his team has responded, during their first few days of practice in full pads.

Pad work began with the Bearcats annual “Midnight Madness” practice session, bright and early at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning.

“We appreciate the cheeerleaders and the large number of fans who came out to witness Midnight Madness,” Pilcher said. “It made for a great atmosphere and it really got the players fired up and they have continued to work hard during the rest of their first week in pads.

“Our quarterbacks and running backs have done some good things operating behind our veteran offensive line in early drills.”

Working at quarterback are junior starter Preston Norris and junior Aaron Calloway, who primarily played running back last year.

Pilcher’s veteran offensive line includes senior Cole Granato at center, seniors Anquivious Carroll and Tim Shaw at the guards and seniors Jason Long and Madison Malone at the tackles.

The long snapper for punts and place kicks is Andrzej Jeglinski.

Defensively, B.J. Cheatem, Marshall Mack and  Jamez Harris, a trio of senior linebackers, are among those leading the way.