Heritage Head Football Coach Jake Copeland and the Hawks coaching staff recently welcomed Mount Zion High School from Carrollton and McNair High School from Atlanta for a day of football-organized team activities.

The practice allowed all three schools to see where they stand before official football practice began this week.

The Hawks are excited to return to the field for the 2022 season and reenter the Georgia Independent Football Association after spending the last two in the Georgia High School Association.

Copeland said that the roster is up to 41 players for the upcoming season, almost double where that number has been for the last two seasons.

"You can tell they are carrying themselves confidently,” Copeland said. “They believe we will be much better, believe in each other and don't care that we are super young.”

The Hawks will scrimmage next Saturday, Aug. 6 against the Walker School at 11 a.m. at Heritage Stadium. They open their regular season on Friday, Aug. 19, against St. Mary’s.