The Gray Collegiate War Eagle football team kicked off their spring practice on April 30. 
The War Eagles are coming off of a successful season. The team was 7-4 overall and 4-0 in Region 5-2A. Gray Collegiate won its first region championship in school history this past season and had a signature 38-12 win over on the road over 2-time defending Class A champion Lamar.
The win snapped the Silver Foxes’ 18 game winning streak and was Lamar’s first home loss in 5 years. 
“Spring practice is all about evaluation,” head coach Adam Holmes said. “We’re trying to fill some voids. We’ve got some spots to fill in the secondary, but offensively up front, all 5 linemen are back. We’ve also got some guys coming up from JV who can help us out.” 
Quarterback Hunter Helms is returning for his senior season with the War Eagles. 
The All-Chronicle Country standout completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,966 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions last season. 
He currently holds offers to play college football from Troy, Holy Cross, and Elon and has received interest from Kentucky, Miami, West Virginia, Southern Miss, Appalachian State, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, Liberty, East Carolina, Yale and Harvard. 
Helms has one more high school season to play and he’s optimistic about his team this year.
“I actually expected a little less from the guys,” Helms said about the 1st day of practice. “We had a really good practice and they even showed me up a bit.
“As far as this season goes, I’ll probably have the best line I’ve ever had with guys like Caleb Moore and Wes Mcleod.” 
Regarding the upcoming season, Helms pointed to a couple of high-profile players. He named running back KZ Adams, wide receiver Trent Higgins, and wide receiver Nykiem Smith, as ones he expects to contribute to the Gray Collegiate offense. 
Gray Collegiate’s first game of the 2019 season is at 7:30 pm Aug. 23. at Gilbert. The War Eagles are also tentatively scheduled for road games at Lamar, White Knoll, Dreher and sister school Oceanside Collegiate.