The first official game on Shamokin's schedule is Aug. 29 against Line Mountain.
Wednesday evening at Kemp Memorial Stadium, the Indians had the opportunity to gain a bit of game experience against a different opponent: themselves.
For the second year in a row, Shamokin held the Purple-White game, an intra-squad matchup with the team divided into purple and a white units.
The idea was conceived to give the players a chance to warm up before the actual season starts.
"Just something that we wanted to put together to get everybody on the field, get them a little game experience," head coach Pat DiRienzo said. "Like colleges do intra-squad scrimmages and get everybody on the field."
This year's edition featured a change in the way the teams were chosen. The offensive and defensive coaches were pitted against each other and held a draft to determine the purple and white rosters.
DiRienzo said the coaches were sticking to what they knew and the offensive coaches kept to offensive players, while the defensive coaches mainly took defensive options.
However, it wasn't all just for fun. The game offered plenty of opportunities for the players.
"It's going to give me an chance to see people that haven't played on the team last year and see if they can tackle, block, run the ball," DiRienzo said. "Look at guys
with little experience. They might earn a spot. This can be a game where they stand out a little bit."
The scrimmage also offered playing time to more than just the high school team.
The C- Little Indians team and the Shamokin Grey team played an exhibition game before the high school team and two more youth teams played during the Purple-White halftime.
DiRienzo hopes that with the younger players in attendence, it could help the future of not only Shamokin football, but also the Purple-White game itself.
"Hopefully bringing the YFL and the Little Indians into play, while we're playing, hopefully brings more people in, gets more interest," DiRienzo said. "Especially kids that think 'Hey maybe I can play in this game in a couple years.' Something for them to look forward to."
Even though the current players on the high school team didn't get the chance to see a Purple-White scrimmage, the focus was mainly on them as the players continue battling, and working to improve on a winless 2013 season.
The Purple-White game offered the perfect oppurtunity.
"Rather than just tackling each other in practice, put them in a game situation and see how they react," DiRienzo said. "Tackling, play-calling, running, catching, just overall blocking, just to see how everybody reacts to a game situation."