As the days until the high school football season descended into single digits Wednesday night, moms of Jefferson City football players were spotted in an unusual spot - the gridiron.
Jays head coach Ted LePage and his football program hosted its fourth annual Moms Night at Adkins Stadium. The response was the greatest LePage has seen with 74 mothers living a day in the life of a Jays football player.
"A teenager doesn't usually want to be around their parents. So, for 74 young men to go home and invite their moms out, that's pretty special," LePage said. "It makes for a really exciting start to the season."
Jays players showed their moms around the locker room and film room before getting the chance to be their personal coach down on the turf field.
"It makes it fun for the players, because they get to come out here and tell their moms what to do," LePage said.
And that's exactly what they did.
The players came out onto the field with their moms and began barking commands, instructing them how to do specific stretches and drills. But it was all in good fun, of course.
For Buffy Berendzen, mother of Carson, she enjoyed her second Moms Night experience.
"I had a great time," she said. "It's great for the moms to come out and learn what their son's are doing.
"It's getting more popular every year. We're trying to spread the word to the other moms about how much fun it is and I think that's worked."
As for Carson, breaking up the monotony of preseason practice with something a little different was a plus.
"It's the same thing over and over, so to come out her and mix it up a little bit, it's pretty fun," he said.
Like most practices, it started with team stretching. It quickly became quite chaotic. Shortly thereafter, everyone dispersed into individual drills.
Moms did most of what their sons would do on a daily basis at a typical Jays practice: They ran routes, threw passes, caught passes, worked on defensive coverages, etc.
Mom's were seen stumbling on the footwork drills, when the players in turn yelled "sniper", as if someone had caused their falls.
"The turf can get to you. It can be interesting for some of them," LePage said.
One noticable member among the group was 77-year old Valeta Grunden. Grunden stepped in for Brett Kolb's mother, who couldn't make it do to a prior commitment.
"I'm sure the other moms were probably wondering "What the heck is she doing out there?'" Grunden said. "I come out for all the games, but I don't understand what goes on behind the scenes. I love to be a part of this and to get to see what the boys and the coaches do."
Kolb raved about the purpose and uniqueness of the event.
"It's really cool that we get to bring our family out here and show them how meaningful that this sport is to us and how hard we work to get it done.
"It's really a unoriginal to do this. Not many teams do this; it makes us unique."
The Moms Night on the gridiron ended like all Jays practices do, with pressure on the team's kicker. This time instead of J.T. Bohlken lining up for the field goal, it was his mom - Megan McDonough.
Although she wouldn't have to kick it from long distance like Bohlken does on a regular basis. At a recent practice, Bohlken sent a 57-yarder through the posts to save his teammates from extra running, LePage said.
McDonough was given three opportunites from a short distance - OK, it was from the goal line, but who's keeping track? - but she needed just one. The kick cleared the bottom upright, and sailed through the posts to cap off the night.
The mom's came away winners in the end, thanks to McDonough's field goal that saved the moms from what the Jays call a cross-field sprint.
"I heard a lot of moms saying "I'm not running if she misses,'" LePage said.
Buffy Berendzen spoke for most moms with her response when asked about her experience: "My favorite part? Spending time with my son, probably."