Pearl River Central head coach Jeremy Weir’s first season at the helm of his alma mater had is ups and downs.

And after his second spring training, the PRC mentor hopes year two will have a few more ups than downs.

The Blue Devils finished up spring sessions by hosting a jamboree last week, with Hancock, Pass Christian and Columbia participating.

PRC beat Columbia 8-6 and fell to PCHS 7-0 in the event, that consisted of each team playing one quarter against the other.

“I was real pleased with a lot of what we did,” Weir, whose team was 3-7 last season said. “The attitude of the kids was real good and they worked hard. We just need to carry that over to next season.”

The biggest concern for PRC entering next season is replacing its top two offensive weapons, in running backs Ram Miller and Warren House.

But, the Blue Devils return all five members of an offensive line that were young and inexperienced last season, but should be more prepared for the weekly wars of Division 8-4A battles this season.

“I’m very happy with the way that unit performed this spring,” Weir added. “With all five of those guys back, we’re excited about what they can do. They should be bigger, stronger and they have a year of experience under their belts. And even though the running backs we lost are a concern, hopefully those guys up front will take some pressure off the backfield and help open up a lof of different things.”

Quarterback Blake Herrin, who started as a sophomore last year, had an injured hand and missed the spring. Josh Lee filled in, and proved more than capable according to Weir.

“In a perfect world, Blake would be the quarterback and Josh would be our tailback, but Blake now has to get that job back because Josh played really well this spring,” Weir added.

The Blue Devils did get a bit of bad news during the spring, as standout defensive end Daniel Hayden moved to New Orleans because of a family situation and will play for John Ehret next season.

The Blue Devils will report for fall practice on Monday, Aug. 6th, in prepartaion for the opening game of the 2007 season.

Pearl River Central hosts visiting South Jones to kick off the season on Friday, Aug. 31.