Monday was the first day of football practice. How did your team look?

It was an unseasonably cool 72 degrees around 8 a.m. Monday with the Belleville West football team already well into its first official practice for the 2016 season.

“I think it’s great because I know we can practice in this,” said Maroons coach Cameron Pettus, whose team is coming off a 5-5 record in 2015. “We’ve had a good summer and most of these guys have been out here getting the conditioning and getting used to the weather. We know we’ll get hit with a little heat later.”

Althoff coach Ken Turner also appreciated a break from the typical searing August heat and humidity.

“This is the best weather for the first day that we’ve had in a couple years, so I hope it keeps up,” Turner said.

Edwardville coach Matt Martin joked that there might be “climate issues.”

“It’s good and bad,” said Martin, whose team was 9-1 last season and won the Southwestern Conference. “You need a little heat so you can be prepared for Friday nights. I have a feeling it’s not going to stay like this. But definitely, I think your concentration level goes way up when it’s cooler.”

Another season officially began Monday as teams throughout the metro-east and Illinois began preparing for season openers Aug. 26 and Aug. 27.

Two of the region’s top teams are the East St. Louis Flyers, eager to get going after being derailed by a teacher’s strike a year ago, and the Edwardsville Tigers. East Side was forced to forfeit its final four games last season because of the strike and finished 3-6.

It was only the third losing season since 1999 for the Flyers, who own an area-leading seven state championships.

East Side and Edwardsville boast two of the top players in the country. The Flyers have senior wide receiver Jeff Thomas, who has offers from Alabama and a host of major programs; Edwardsville senior defensive end A.J. Epenesa has committed to Iowa.

Epenesa was ranked 34th among all 2017 prospects in the country on the latest Rivals 100 list while Thomas was 88th.

Epensesa is looking forward to his final season with the Tigers.

“I’m just ready for the season. It’s close, but I know it’s going to go by quick,” said Epenesa, who also will line up in the backfield for the Tigers. “I just want to give it my all with all my brothers I’ve been playing with since Little Tigers. Hopefully, we have another good, successful season. We just need to keep working.”

Martin appreciates Epenesa’s work ethic and desire to lead.

“A.J. is doing everything I expect,” Martin said. “We’ve talked about him being more of a vocal leader. I see that out of him. That’s a positive.”

Pettus sees Thomas and Epenesa, both potential All-Americans, on a regular basis in conference play.

“It’s fun. We play some of the best kids in the nation in the Southwestern Conference between the guys that play at East St. Louis like Jeff and also A.J. Epenesa,” Pettus said. “Our conference always has big-time players and it’s a lot of fun competing at that level.”

Stopping Thomas, who turned in a monster summer on the camp and showcase circuit, is easier said than done. Michigan State, Florida State, Auburn, Texas A&M and Missouri are among the schools still vying for his services.

“You’ve obviously got to know where Jeff is on the field because he is super-talented,” Pettus said. “We usually make sure we try and bracket him if we can and get pressure on the quarterback.”

Another East St. Louis major talent to watch is senior quarterback Reyondous Estes. Estes committed to Western Michigan earlier this year, but recently picked up an offer from Missouri and could be contemplating a switch with so many former Flyers playing at Mizzou.

The Flyers open the season Aug. 27 on the road against Chicago area powerhouse Providence Catholic, then will face St. Louis area power CBC at home on Sept. 3.

Just north of Belleville West along Frank Scott Parkway, the Althoff Crusaders hit the field hoping to improve on their 2015 season. To do so would mean a state championship since Althoff won 13 straight last fall before losing to Chicago Phillips in the Class 4A state title game.

“We had a lot of seniors last year to help us get there, but now we know what to do to win it all,” said Althoff senior All-Area linebacker Bryson Strong, who recently picked up an offer from Kentucky Christian. “We’ve got there last year, we’re just going to finish the job. That’s the motivation and the team word this year, to finish. That’s what we’re going to do.

“We’ve got the hard work and dedication. We’ve got people that want it. We’re hungry.”

One notable player missing at Althoff’s practice was star senior receiver Jordan Goodwin. Goodwin has major Division I offers in basketball after helping lead Althoff to the Class 3A state championship last year. He also has several Division I football offers, including Iowa and New Mexico.

Turner was asked about Goodwin’s somewhat surprising absence on Monday.

“As of right now, the Goodwin family has decided he’s not going to play football,” Turner said. “As a player with that ability and that skill set, obviously you want him to play.”

Another area to watch for Althoff is at quarterback, where junior Trey Mosley is replacing former Crusaders’ all-state starter and News-Democrat Small-School Player of the Year Jordan Augustine.

“Trey Mosley’s been a pretty good quarterback throughout the process,” Turner said. “Jordan was a really good quarterback for us, but I expect Trey to jump right in and keep this offense moving good.”

Along with Althoff, there are several other talented small schools to watch, including Mater Dei, Columbia and Nashville. Mater Dei has an exciting quarterback in Colin Schuetz.

Second-year Collinsville coach Rick Reinhart hopes his Kahoks, who were 3-6 last season, are ready to take another step forward. Three of Collinsville’s losses were by three or fewers points.

“This is perfect weather,” Reinhart said. “We’ve got a breeze. It’s overcast. There’s no excuse (to not work hard). We’re looking at guys who show the toughness to get through the conditioning drills. We’re in a situation where we’ve got guys going both ways. We hope we can get away from that ... but the best 11 play. That’s old-school. It shows up pretty quick who’s in shape and who’s not.”

For Reinhart, working hard comes easier these days. He’s had both knees replaced since the end of last season.

“This year, both knees could bend,” he said. “So it was much more fun today than last year. It was like night and day. If it wouldn’t have worked, I wouldn’t be here because it wasn’t fun. I do this thing for fun.”

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Monday was the first day of football practice. How did your team look?."