It is time to get going for the Yuma High School football team.
“It keeps getting earlier and earlier every year it seems,” coach Kelly Seward said.
All high school teams in Colorado could begin preseason practice this past Monday, August 3. However, the Outlaws particularly needed the early start as they open the 2026 season with a Zero Week game. They will host the Meeker Cowboys on Friday, August 21 at 7 p.m.
The team went to a camp in Gunnison just two weeks ago, and now are into preseason practice.
“We’ve been doing a lot more this summer that we have in the past, so I feel where we’re at,” Seward said.
The coach and his staff had around 25 out for the first practice, but he said there should be around 36 when everyone gets done with their end-of-summer activities.
“Our core was there yesterday so we hit the ground running,” Seward said.
The players will be able to go full speed in helmets and pads by Saturday. There will be another week of practice — the school year begins Tuesday — before the Outlaws go to Byers for a scrimmage on August 15. This is Byers’ first year back in 11-man football in many years.
“We have so many returners coming back I figured we had to go scrimmage someone,” Seward said, noting only a handful of starters were lost from the 2025 squad. “The core of our team is back.”
Look for more about the team in next editions leading up to the season opener.