Little Axe Football Trying to Regain Normalcy

Originally Published: May 27, 2010 12:25 PM CDT

Gan Matthews
Special to Oklahoma Sports

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Spring football practice at Little Axe High School is going a little long this year.

Like everything else at the high school, spring practice plans were upset when a tornado roared through Norman on May 10th, wreaking havoc on school property.

Besides the school administration building, the tornado also caused a lot of damage to football equipment - including the team's scoreboard and blocking sled.

Indians head coach Jason Wheeler says his players have responded well to the situation and haven't minded continuing spring practice after the school term ended.

“Anytime you’re put in a situation where you’ve got adversity like this, you do one of two things,” said Wheeler. “[Either] you mature quickly and you respond to the challenge or you fold, you tuck tail and run. Our guys, they’ve grown up. They’re ready to go. They’re going to be ready to play come August.”

"For the most part, it hasn't really affected [practice]," said lineman Ryan Zabel. "We're solid. We know we're good and we stick together."