HALIFAX AT STEEL-HIGH
7 p.m. FRIDAY, WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL FIELD
RECORDS: First game.
THE WILDCATS: Word on the street is first-year head coach Matt Maniskas has some young but unproven talent in his arsenal, so he plans to spread the wealth around. Halifax lost 2,800 yards of total offense and a few linemen. That’s a big number. With so many fresh faces on each side of the ball, and a new system going on defense, the learning curve out of the gate will be tested by the zippy Rollers. Halifax doesn’t have much size, especially on defense, so keeping the game in front of them will be important.
THE ROLLERS: Coming off an eight-win season, Steel-High has 15 starters back at plenty of the right spots. Plenty of skill-position players to make touchdowns a common occurrence on Cottage Hill. James Warren, Jaki Haywood, Jaron Grayer, Logan Davis and Sy-Heed Johnson will all get touches. Warren will fire the engines from the QB position. The offensive line is in good hands too. One more level of consistency from the defense, and that is high on the Week 1 shopping list, will go a long way to elevate this bunch to contender status.
THE CRUX: Starting over is rarely a smooth process. Toss in a new coach for Halifax and holding off that three-touchdown avalanche from Steel-High is the key to the Wildcats playing meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter.
SHAY SAYS: Steel-High (-18) had its way with Halifax last season, and by all indications this is a better Rollers squad than in 2012. This is a tough opener for this version of the Wildcats.
SHAY ON TWITTER: @APShay