THORNTON — Jeff Priestley’s first summer football program with Fort Lupton High School won’t be a game changer.
    “We’ve added a few plays, some different things and looks,” Priestly said. “We’re not going to change the offense or the defense. We’re going to add a few things that will give us a chance to see if we like them for the season.”
    The Bluedevils had a spring camp just before Memorial Day. The summer camp started Monday and continues through the first full day of practice in mid-August. The schedule includes two and a half hours of weight training each morning, a two-week, full-contact camp starting July 16 and seven-on-seven camps Monday evenings. The final seven-on-seven scrimmage is set for 7 p.m. July 27 at Denver South High School.
    “Those camps are a great opportunity to work on our passing and secondary coverage, things like that,” Priestley said. “The scrimmage at Denver South will be a great opportunity to test ourselves a little bit and see how far we’ve come during the summer.”
    Aside from the camps and the drills, Priestley wants his players to get stronger.
    “We need to build some strength. It’s something we’ve worked on since January,” he said. “We need to continue to develop the weight room attitude. It’s something we have to have going into a tough new conference. We have to be prepared physically.”
    Priestley also wants to spend the summer looking for some new leaders.
    “We need some kids who are going to try and lead each other,” Priestley said. “We expect our seniors to be leaders. We expect them to solve problems, not create them. Our underclassmen can be leaders, too. We’ve talked about leadership with all our kids. It could be something as simple as cleaning the weight room or the locker room.
    The Bluedevils’ preseason camp starts Aug. 6. The first practice is Aug. 13, and the first game is Aug. 30 at Middle Park. The game is on a Thursday because MPHS is a four-day-a-week school.
    “We moved down to Class 2A this year,” Priestley said. “We’ve watched some film on Middle Park. They were a young team last year, so that will be a good test right off the bat to see where we’re at.”

Contact Sports Editor Steve Smith at ssmith@metrowestnewspapers.com or at 303-659-2522, ext. 224.