With last Friday as the first day high schools could begin football practice for the 2017 season in South Carolina, first-year Pickens head coach Chad Smith didn’t take long to put his players through the paces, as the Blue Flame began their preseason practice schedule with a “midnight madness” practice that began at 12:01 a.m. Pickens and the other three county high schools will officially kick off the season in Week 0 on Aug. 18.