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CADDO – When the clock strikes midnight this Tuesday morning, the Bruins will officially begin their quest for a return to the football state championship.

This season, Caddo moves from Class B eight man football, where they won the state title a year ago, to Class A. This will be their first competition in 11-man football in many years, and it will be a tough row to hoe: The defending state champions, Wayne, will now be a division rival for the Bruins.

New Head Coach Jeremy Proctor announced this week’s practice schedule, and assistant Coach Krys Gross urged football fans in the Caddo area to get involved. The public is welcomed and enthusiastically invited to attend practices ahead of a pair of late August scrimmages.

As the southern Oklahoma summer bears down into the triple digits, Proctor and his coaching staff have elected to employ a Texas trick, opening practice so late on Monday night that it will actually start on Tuesday.

The Tuesday “morning” practice will last from 12-2 a.m., with a second practice from 6-10 p.m. Wednesday practice will be held from 6-9 a.m. and again from 6-10 p.m.

Thursday and Friday are the first days of school in Caddo, so practices will be before and after classes: 6-8 a.m. and 2-6 p.m. Also on Friday, Proctor’s “eye-opener” practice session will have the team decked out in full pads for the first time.

Saturday practice will be held from 7-11 a.m., and will include full line-ups and Oklahoma Pride drills. Following a second week of practice, Caddo’s first scrimmage will be on Aug. 17 when Antlers visits the Bruins.

The coaches have urged community support by encouraging attendance at these practice sessions and the scrimmage. The team is considering an “Adopt-A-Bruin” program, but in the meantime supporters can donate “the little things” which players always need, such as sports drinks, water, soap and towels.

Proctor’s coaching staff this season includes Gross, Walker and Shane Millerman. The regular season opens Aug. 31 on the road in Canadian, while the first home game is not until Sept. 14 against the Durant junior varsity squad.