John Essex High School&8217;s football team made major adjustments during its spring practice session to fill roles of members that are graduating.

Coach Alphus Shipman said the group did well with those adjustments he was trying to begin instilling prior to the upcoming season. He said he got a lot done considering the brevity of spring practice that will help the group work on other things later on in the preseason.

Shipman said two of the main areas he felt like needed emphasis during spring were the offensive line and defense. He said the work the two groups got during the practices did a lot of good and should pay dividends.

He said the defensive unit showed a lot of effort during the practices and there was a considerable difference as training wound down from where it was when the group started.

He said this was a tall order after the team graduated five seniors who were an important part of the team and adjustments had to be made.

He said the efforts exhibited by the young players will have to continue into the summer for the group to get where it needs to be for the fall. He said a lot depends on what the group can achieve during summer workouts with continued fervor.