After warming-up their circus tricks in a scrimmage against Royse City on Aug. 20, the #14 ranked Redhawk football team attempts to tame the Reedy Lions Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in their season opening game at Kuykendall Stadium.

“Reedy beat us last year in a close game where we made our comeback at the end,” senior Chika Ugoh said. “I think we definitely have a chip on our shoulder but we can still beat them.”

For senior wide receiver Evan Stewart, one of the nation’s top recruits, last year’s 35-27 loss to Reedy is all the motivation he needs to start the season. 

“I mean I’ve grown a lot as a player since that game (Reedy game) but it did add a lot of fuel to the fire,” Stewart said. “Like I want to beat Reedy, like bad, like as soon as this week came up I’ve been amped up ready to go.”

Composed of mainly upperclassmen, head coach Matt Swinnea believes it has been mostly a team effort this year as everyone has been pulling equal weight.

“It is kind of going to be an interesting year, in one way, for the first time in a long time,” Swinnea said. “This year we are very, very senior heavy. We really have about 36 seniors, maybe 10 juniors at tops, and not really any sophomores so as far as any one individual standing out it kind of remains to be seen.”

With plans of coming back strong after a loss against Reedy last season, the team looks to improve their skills as a whole, hoping that a win against Reedy means a highlight of the season.

“We have a great quarterback, a great running back, and a good offensive line,” Ugoh said. “So I think when we beat them, it will be a good sign that we can handle any team we play this season.”