By GERRY STEELE

Of the Baker City Herald

Baker football fortunes are in capable hands for years to come if the enthusiasm displayed by young Junior Bulldog football players in Grades 4 through 6 is any example.

andquot;It will make us good at football,andquot; said Trenton Howard.

andquot;It will make our high school team better,andquot; added Coleman Lay.

Howard and Coleman were two of over 100 youth participating last week at the Bulldog Football Camp at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.

The camp, in conjunction with the Baker County Family YMCA, was the first on tackle football for youngsters in that age group. The Y has instituted a tackle football program starting in September.

This is a new Y program, in place of the flag football program.

andquot;This is like a whole lot better than flag,andquot; said Eliott Averett. andquot;In flag they can pull a QB sneak at the goal line and you basically can’t stop them. You can in tackle.andquot;

andquot;Tackle football is funner, but it’s harder than flag,andquot; said Will Barr.

Basic proper tackling and blocking techniques and offensive and defensive plays were taught to the youngsters by BHS coach Dave Johnson, his staff and several of this year’s Bulldogs. andquot;We’ve tried to take them through the exact same program we do with the older kids,andquot; Johnson said.

andquot;We’re doing a scaled down version of our regular drills.andquot;

Johnson said he was pleased with what he saw during the five-day camp.

andquot;The kids have been doing a nice job of paying attention. They’re really eager. They’ve been nearly perfect in hustling to drills and paying attention,andquot; he said.

Brett Smith, a current Bulldog linebacker, said he wished he had had the opportunity these youngsters received before he got into junior high and high school football.

andquot;I wish we’d have had something like this back them,andquot; Smith said. andquot;When we played Pendleton they had had tackle football for three or four years, and they just killed us.

andquot;These kids are having more fun. They’re out here having a good time. By the time they’re done they’ll have had six or seven years of this kind of ball. It will continue to come a lot easier for them,andquot; Smith said.

So, what did the youngsters think of tackle football?

andquot;We’ve been waiting for this a long time,andquot; said Dekker Smith, Brett’s younger brother.

andquot;I’m doing it because it’s challenging,andquot; said Schyler Miller. andquot;In flag football you basically just have to dodge people.andquot;

For some, playing tackle football could be a means of taking out their frustrations.

andquot;It’s funner because you can’t get in trouble for tackling,andquot; said Weston Anderson.

andquot;I can take out my anger on somebody else besides my sister,andquot; said Jake Sayers.

andquot;You can hit people a lot harder and not get called,andquot; added Nick Cripe.

andquot;It’s just awesome, so much cooler,andquot; said Zach Thatcher.

andquot;You get to hit people,andquot; said C.J. Bowers.

andquot;The helmets are tight,andquot; said Joel Rohner. andquot;And, we might get to hit some high school guys.andquot;

Others used the football as a replacement for another activity.

andquot;This is great. It’s better than school,andquot; said Adam Haun.

andquot;You don’t get to tackle people at school,andquot; added Dustin Hull.

andquot;It’s better than watching football on TV,andquot; said Chris Brown.

andquot;It’s better than doing homework,andquot; said Luke Austin.

andquot;Anything’s better than doing homework,andquot; added several of Austin’s teammates.