Ferris Football Continues Preseason Camp

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The Ferris State University football team continues to prepare for the 2009 campaign and the squad's season opener as fall camp rolls on in Big Rapids.

The Bulldogs, who opened camp with their first official practice last Friday, will have nine practices under their belts prior to their first scrimmage this Saturday (Aug. 15) morning at 9:30 a.m. (EDT).

FSU will hold a total of 25 workouts along with two scrimmages prior to the team's season opener on Aug. 29.

The Bulldogs held their first two-a-day practice session on Wednesday (Aug. 12) after a mandatory five-day acclimation period.  FSU's first practice in full pads took place on Tuesday (Aug. 11) afternoon.

"We've got a tremendous amount of competition going on for several spots right now," said head coach Jeff Pierce.  "I think we're on track as far as the learning curve and not making a lot of mistakes at this point, which is nice to see."

Ferris' three-week training camp period not only features practices and scrimmages, but also meetings, lifting, conditioning, testing and various orientation sessions. Practices are being held both on the FSU practice fields along with selected ones on the Mondo Ecofill artificial surface at Top Taggart Field.

In the squad's testing sessions, a total of seven players posted 40-yard dash times of 4.4 seconds or faster, including three with times of 4.3 in the test. In all, 24 players posted 40 times of 4.6 or faster and 42 were under 4.8 seconds, ranking as one of the top testing performances in the 15 years Pierce has been at the Bulldog helm.

After Saturday's initial preseason scrimmage, the squad's final scrimmage will be held prior to FSU's annual media/photo day activities on Friday, Aug. 21. The final scrimmage will begin at 9 a.m. (EDT) with the media/photo day taking place at 1 p.m. (EDT).

Ferris State will kickoff its 101st season of varsity competition Saturday, Aug. 29, against the Tiffin (Ohio) Dragons in a 7 p.m. (EDT) non-conference contest at Top Taggart Field. The game will take place during FSU "Welcome Week" activities and be part of a true "Community Football Day" atmosphere as Big Rapids High School will also open its 2009 season versus Holton earlier in the day (2:30 p.m.) in the same facility and a rocket football contest will be part of the FSU halftime events.

The Bulldogs, who will play an 11-game regular-season schedule, open GLIAC action the following Saturday, Sept. 5, at home versus the Ashland Eagles with kickoff also set for 7 p.m. (EDT). The game will be part of the area's annual Riverdays Festival with the traditional Fireworks Night festivities taking place following the contest.

A highlight of the Bulldogs' 2009 campaign will come on Saturday, Oct. 3, when FSU takes on Michigan Tech in the "Battle At The Ballpark", which will be played on the home field of Minor League Baseball's West Michigan Whitecaps at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, Mich., starting at 7 p.m. (EDT).

Tickets for all home games can be purchased at the game or for more information please contact the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888.