Action on the gridiron is set to hit a fevered pitch this Friday as all six senior boys high school football teams in 1A Conference Three begin their regular seasons with a goal of establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with this fall.

Neil Boutin, head coach of the Gull Lake Lions, said they are starting off the season with “moderate to high expectations” and hope to begin their quest for a top four position and subsequent playoff spot with a victory this Friday at the Lion’s Den over the Davidson Raiders. He said everyone on the Lions knows this is a tough league with three or four teams able to challenge for the top spot.

“It’s going to be entertaining and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Boutin, noting this is their first year back in Conference Three after competing in Conference Two last season.

Boutin said they have lost a few starters on defence from last year’s squad, so they’ll be building it by committee. He said the main thing that should keep them competitive this year is their offence.

“My offence isn’t much changed from last year and we could put points on the board,” he said. “We’re in the process of revamping our offence to form a balanced attack. We have a lot of guys who can bring different things to the table.”

Davidson Raiders head coach Jason Low said their starting core of Grade 12 students should give them their “best chance” of having a successful season in 2013 since the Raiders first took the field two years ago. He said the team has had some “really good” practices leading up to their game against the Lions this week thanks to the expertise of new Raiders coach Blair Frederickson.

“He has been a great addition out there helping us run practices and giving us some tips and pointers from what he’s seen and done (with) other teams,” said Low. “We’ve had a real renewed energy to some of our practices and to the mental portion of the team.”

Low said they could run into some trouble if they have a few injuries during the season because of the low number of players on the team, but their dual air/ground offence is going to fit in well with the players they have.

“We’ve got big (and) strong bodies that can run and catch the ball,” he said. “We have really high hopes for our offence this year.”

To read more please see the Sept. 9 print edition of The Davidson Leader.