Fall is for football, so the Central Eagles are looking to rid themselves of a track mentality.</p><p>During Henry Newell&#8217;s first season as football coach, he felt uneasy about using so many athletes more suitable for sprinting the 100 meters than rushing for touchdowns, and his fears were realized late in the 2007 season.</p><p>The Eagles finished with a 5-4 record but faded out with a 7-0 loss to Van Horn.</p><p>&#8220;(Last year) we had a lot of track kids, good athletes (but) they never really bought in,&#8221; Newell said. &#8220;To move to the next level, they have to buy in.&#8221;</p><p>Newell along with defensive coordinator Ray McGowan now believe they see football players on the field. The team has had a weight program for two years, and to Newell, becoming physically fit helps create mentally strong players.</p><p>&#8220;This team has a lot better work ethic,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is much more of a football team than a track team. This is our team.&#8221;</p><p>Despite his misgivings about track athletes posing as football players, Newell likes Central&#8217;s team speed. So much so that he&#8217;s changing his old-school, smash-mouth football ways and creating a spread offense for his speedsters. Newell even hints that Central could pass as many as 40 times in the season opener at 7 p.m. Friday against St. Joseph Lafayette.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what we&#8217;re looking forward to this year, to use our speed,&#8221; senior quarterback Darius Hicks said. &#8220;Last year we depended on two or three players. But in this offense it seems like anybody can make a play at any given time.&#8221;</p><p>Division-I prospect senior Kaleig Mohammad returns, but most of the skill positions will be filled by new players.