Cullman opened fall camp this week. The Bearcats kick off the 2023 season with a home game against Mars Hill Bible.

Fall camp opened this week for many teams around the state, including a few in The Times’ coverage area.

The 2023 season kicks off Thursday, August 24.

Until then, take a look at this year’s Bearcats below and check back for a story, roster and pictures in the 2023 Football Preview Magazine.

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Cullman

▶ 2022 Record: 7-4 (2-3 in Class 6A, Region 7)

▶ Key Returners: Pierce Bartle, Jackson Bentley, Wyatt Buchanan, LJ Turner, Nick Holland, Sam Mayhair, Jackson Sessions, Trenton Clemmons

▶ Key Losses: Ryan Skinner, Tyler Owens, Jared Shelton, Drew Carter, Carter Ziegenbein, Nate Zills, Ben Washburn, Beckett Calvert, Patton Elkins, Elijah Hays, Sawyer Trimble, Garrett Hall

▶ Quick Hitter: First-year coach Danny Stiff won three state titles as a player at Hoover (2002-04) under then-coach Rush Propst.

▶ Coach Speak: “You feel a little more urgency and get a little more fired up every day you wake up. Last week, we came to see the band do their performance … just hearing some of the songs they play during the game was getting my blood boiling (laughs). The closer you get, the more excited you get about it. We’re ready to get out there and see how far we’ve come and how far we have to go. It’s kind of a balance between excitement and day-to-day anxiousness to get prepared.” — Danny Stiff

“Like I said when I took the job — I want to be a tough team and a smart team. I feel really good about where those two things stand at this point. These kids are super smart and will grit through things. I love how they approach every day. They are awesome kids. There’s nothing about any day coming to work that I dread. It’s exciting to work with them because I know what kind of effort I’m going to get from them. It’s a blessing to coach kids like this. They are 100 percent the kids I thought they were and even more. I even see it all the way down to the youth kids. It’s the same mentality and work ethic that bleeds through this whole community.” — Stiff

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2023 Schedule

▶ 8/24: Mars Hill Bible

▶ 9/1: at Jasper

▶ 9/8: at Hartselle*

▶ 9/15: at Decatur*

▶ 9/22: Lee-Huntsville

▶ 9/29: at Mortimer Jordan

▶ 10/6: Athens*

▶ 10/13: at Columbia*

▶ 10/20: Muscle Shoals*

▶ 10/27: Etowah

▶ 11/3: BYE

*Class 6A, Region 7 Game