New Falkville head coach Joel Schrenk gives instructions to the Blue Devils during the first day of fall practice on Monday. His squad’s numbers are up to 35, an improvement over 2011. | Clif Knight

Falkville’s Blue Devils opened fall practice in shorts, T-shirts and helmets on Monday with 35 players participating.

Future one-a-day practice sessions were scheduled for 2 p.m.

“We had a good spring, a great summer and hopefully that will carry over into the fall,” said first year head coach Joel Schrenk. “Over the next three weeks we want to get everything installed and continue to work hard and get tougher.”

In the first practice, the squad was divided into four groups with an assistant coach working with each group. The groups rotated from one drill to the next every three to four minutes, always in a running motion.

“We practice fast because that’s the way we want to play the game,” said Schrenk. “Ideally, we’ll run 70 offensive plays during a game.”