RESERVE — With the Fourth of July behind us, these are the days most football coaches are itching to flip the calendar page to August and the pre-circled date of Aug. 10 — the official start of practice.

Before they do, St. John Parish coaches will get a few more chances to see their teams in 7-on-7 competitions. What they’ve seen so far has some pretty excited about the season.

First-year Riverside Academy head coach Chris Lachney will set out to defend the Division III state championship with a slew of returning starters.

Among them are quarterback Jordan Loving, running back Jeremy Gibson and receiver/backup quarterback Jared Butler.

The summer’s worth of passing drills against Destrehan High and other teams shows Lachney his offense is on pretty solid ground.

“I think it’s no surprise to us that our skill players on offense are really good right now,” Lachney said. “That’s not going to be a surprise to anybody. We’ve got a really  good quarterback coming back, a lot of pretty good receivers and, obviously, a great running back. It’s no chess match here. It’s whose players are doing the job the best, and our players do a pretty good job.”

Likewise, St. Charles Catholic coach Frank Monica is a step ahead of the game with the return of quarterback Lloyd Nash.

What Monica tried to do with his 7-on-7 drills this summer was find a few guys who could catch the ball — then run with it.

Monica said Taylor Miller is one who stepped up as a receiver. A couple of guys, including Trey Joseph, Dellary Oubre and Brice Authement are showing signs of being very good in the secondary.

“We have a few bright spots,” said Monica, who is prepping his team for the move from Class 3A to Class 4A competition. “The biggest thing is, when you’re throwing the ball, you get a chance to work out things like your pass routes. You get to see if the route is worth keeping in your system and you get a chance to develop the passing game from the throwing and catching part and your personnel part. It’s always up in the air. I need to find out who can play and who can’t. In the secondary, you’d be surprised at the amount of kids who can’t break on a ball.”

Monica added that the summer league gives him many opportunities to see more players in action.

“It’s football without the blocking,” he said. “It’s still the closest thing we can come to, and the kids like the competition.”

At East St. John High, coach Aldon Foster doesn’t have many questions to answer.

He knows Dasmain “Duke” Crosby will be throwing it and, a lot of times, Javon Antonio will be catching it.

Foster said he has been able to single out a few other key players to fit in his offense.

“Shelvin Keller has had a great summer,” Foster said. “He’ll be playing more in the slot. He’s more a play-all-over guy. He’s a great kid.”

Foster also got another receiver in transfer Cameron Grant, who was a starter for East Jefferson last season.

In the secondary, Foster was impressed with Howard Joseph, a 5-foot-8 sophomore.

“He’s little but he’s great,” Foster said.

He also will get help Jarius Monroe and D’Andrei Pittman.

West St. John High coach Brandon Walter said he still is working on a starting quarterback.

The competition continues among juniors D’Andre Gaudia and Alyjah Borne and sophomore Trenton Grow.

“We do have a plan,” he said.

“We’re trying to get our young quarterback to put his name on the position and get to a point where he’s confident and consistent.”

The good news is, West St. John’s linemen are ready.

“Our offensive line and defensive line are far ahead everyone else,” he said.

“Our mission now is solidifying our offense and making sure everything else is going correctly.”