After spring ball and weeks of summer practice, the football team looks to make those hours count Friday night against Denison in a non-district game at 7 p.m. at Toyota Stadium.

“The two first non-district games are vitally important,” head football coach Chris Burtch said. “It gives you an opportunity for you to view where you are being successful and things you’re not being successful at and then address those issues in practice.”

Burtch’s mindset for these preseason games is shared with the players.  

“The first game is very important to the team,” senior Gage Reiter said. “It sets the tone for the season and after months of hard work and preparation, we finally get to go out and showcase our skills.”

With a new season starting, both the offensive and defensive units had to overcome some changes which senior quarterback Alex Moore thinks helped the team.

“The offence has improved a great amount,” Moore said. “We changed the way we call plays which makes it easier to get key players in the position to score.”

The changes have exteneded to the defensive side with the recent introduction of the new defensive coordinator Matt Swinnea.

“When coach Burtch brought on coach Swinnea our defense totally changed,” Reiter said. ”He’s established the mentality that no one will run the ball on us, and that if we play as a single unit we will have success.”

With the first game at hand, Burtch emphasises the importance of looking at the big picture down the road.

“These games are important and we obviously want to win them,” Burtch said. “The ultimate goal is that district championship and a deep run in the playoffs.”