NATCHEZ — Today is a big day for the Trinity Episcopal football players and first-year head coach Josh Loy.

This afternoon marks the first time this fall the Saints will take the field to face an opponent other than themselves, and Loy said it is an opportunity for players to stand out and for his coaching staff to learn what they will be working with this season.

“They are excited,” Loy said. “They are looking forward to seeing someone besides the guy across from them.

“This will go a long way in getting the right guys and putting them in the right spots.”

Trinity will face Canton Academy at 4 p.m. and Amite School Center at 7 p.m. at the Copiah Academy Jamboree.

The Saints started practice July 30, and Loy said the first two weeks of practice have been hectic.

“We are putting in two new systems, and it was a work in progress,” he said. “But they came around as a group, and are rounding into shape.”

Loy said Trinity would show a fraction of the new system in tonight’s jamboree.

“It will be scaled down to what we are confident with and what we’ve done good so far,” he said. “It will be about 50 percent, and we will roll with that.”

Loy said the jamboree games would help him determine what aspects of his system the players understand and what they can use in the season opener against Jefferson County Aug. 17.

Loy said the heat has been a factor for the Saints so far in camp, but he understands that every team in the Miss-Lou is having the same issues.

“We’ve got to get in shape, and we are conditioning with tempo (in practice),” Loy said.

Loy said both the coaching staff and the players are excited about the new chapter of Trinity football that is starting this afternoon, and he looks forward to carrying that enthusiasm over into next week’s game preparation.

Trinity will start working toward its regular season opener Monday.

“We will game plan with what we do well (in the jamboree) and build off that,” he said. “We will have a couple of guys go watch Jefferson County and get a scouting report and go from there.”