Shaking off the rust

Enthusiasm continues to grow within the struggling Chaffee football program under second-year coach Charlie Vickery, evident by a 40-man roster.

The Red Devils got to show off all 40 players Friday at home in a four-team jamboree. Charleston, Fredericktown and Malden joined Chaffee.

"We played everyone we had," Vickery said. "It's hard to get any continuity. The big thing for us is we had three kids who hadn't been on the field before who are going to help us that got some experience."

Chaffee, which was 0-10 last year and has lost 34 straight games, returned 10 starters on each side of the ball, and the added numbers could lead to several new starters this season. Playing against Class 3 Fredericktown, and a pair of Class 2 schools in Charleston and Malden, Class 1 Chaffee's players got to see a level of competition higher than what they will see in much of the season.

"It was good for us to see that type of speed we saw with Malden and Charleston, and Fredericktown is always a physical team," Vickery said.

Up first for the Red Devils was Fredericktown, which did not let Chaffee's offense get much of anything going. Defensively, Chaffee made some good plays, but Fredericktown did drive for a touchdown.

Malden and Charleston each scored a touchdown on the Red Devils, but Chaffee's defense seemed to tighten up as the night went on.

"The longer we went, the better we got," Vickery said. "I saw some good things and bad things -- basically what you expect out of a jamboree.

"It just helps us get out there and get some of the jitters out and do what we wanted to do."

On offense, Chaffee was held out of the end zone against all three opponents. The Red Devils used all three quarterbacks, including starter Michael Lee and primary backup Andrew Hendrix. Neither quarterback did much throwing, with most of the offense concentrated on the ground.

"We tried to stay pretty simple," Vickery said. "I don't think anyone's going to show too much in a jamboree."

Probably the most positive sign for Chaffee was that it appeared to exit the jamboree without any major injuries.

The Red Devils will open their season on the road at Grandview on Sept. 1.

"It's going to be imperative we get off to a good start," Vickery said.