A trio of non-league games kicks off the county slate, with Eisenhower hosting Mercyhurst Prep, Warren hosting Brookville and Sheffield traveling to Elk County Catholic.

Each game provides it’s fair share of intrigue, so let’s jump right in.

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BROOKVILLE (0-0) at WARREN (0-0)

There’s a new attitude at Warren under first year head coach Mark Morelli and his staff, and the Dragons will get to show that off against District 9 foe Brookville.

The Dragons are coming off a 1-9 season, but there is plenty of reason for optimism.

The Dragons are big and physical up front, led by the likes of Andrew Egger, Mason Benjamin, Justin Eck, Colin Salapek, Max Sobina and Connor Rosborough.

Benjamin comes from Youngsville, as does Noah Myers, who figures to see plenty of carries in the backfield, as well as Marvin Bryant.

At quarterback, 6-3 junior Jake Kupchella returns after completing 64 percent of his passes for just shy of 1,000 yards in a half a season and will be throwing to the likes of Kohl Nosel, Mitchell Bryant and Ryan Arnold.

“Our offense has gotten better in the last two weeks,” Morelli said. “They’ve really come together. I thought at times we really looked pretty good against St. Marys (in last Saturday’s scrimmage). All in all, with another week of practice under their belt, I think the offense is going to do fine. Jake is comfortable and confident in what we’re doing. We have to catch the ball, we’re getting better with that. We’re looking for balance and trying to keep them off balance.”

Brookville is led by head coach Scott Park, who used to coach at Sheffield, but it’s who’s running the offense that is noteworthy. Frank Varischetti, who coached DuBois to a 44-25 record, chose not to return after he was told he had to re-apply for his job and now finds himself as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator. He is known for his record-setting offenses at both DuBois and Brockway that are predicated on the quick passing game.

“Brookville will throw the ball a lot with their quick screen game and try to get in space,” Morelli said. “Our athletes have to make plays in the open field. We also have to be able to put pressure on the quarterback.”

Aside from all the X’s and O’s, there of course is the excitement of the opening game. Morelli feels his team is ready from that aspect as well.

“The butterflies are building up and the kids are excited,” he said. “The coaching staff has done a real good job preparing our kids. You coach because of moments like this. It’s the opening game of the season, it’s a new year, everything’s fresh. People are anxious to see what kind of product we’re going to put on the field. They’re honoring Toby Shea at halftime. This place is going to be packed. It’s what you work for. I’m sure I’ll be jumping around, because I coach with a lot of passion and I expect our team to play with a lot of passion.”

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MERCYHURST PREP (0-0) at EISENHOWER (0-0)

Eisenhower is familiar with Mercyhurst Prep, as they played in the opener a season ago, a 13-0 win for the Lakers.

And while the Knights return a lot of players from last year’s playoff team, it will be a much different looking MP squad taking the field at the Pasture of Pain.

They are led by Jesse Luketa, a 4-star linebacker recruit who has been verbal committed to Penn State since February.

The Lakers brought in an influx of talent from other programs, including 6-5, 245-pound tight end/defensive end Chris Mottillo from Girard, as well as quarterback/safety Jacob Brooks, a 6-3, 205-pound senior also from Girard and Mike Allain, a 6-4, 265-pound offensive tackle from suburban Chicago.

It’s easy to look at a situation like that and say it’s unfair, but Eisenhower coach Jim Penley is simply focusing on the task at hand.

Along with a trip to Fort LeBoeuf in Week 2, the start to the season for the Knights will be a challenging one, but Penley is optimistic.

“I feel confident we can go out and compete with both teams,” he said. “I’m not going to knock Mercyhurst Prep – their program has come a long way.”

There will be a few changes for the Knights, as the running game will be featured more prominently. Star receiver Jaydon Hayes is making the move to running back, where his combination of size (6-3, 210) and speed figures to give opponents fits. Couple that with District 10 110 meter hurdle champion Jonah Samuelson, as well as wrestling standout Spencer Head, and Ethan Chambers, and Penley feels like they have the athletes to match up with just about anyone.

“The blessing about doing the system we’ve done the past couple of years with the spread is that a lot of guys get on the field, which means a lot of guys get a lot of reps,” he said. “We’re basing a little more on the run and option this years which is Spencer’s strong suit.”

Eric Corse makes the move from tight end to center and, along with the likes of Matt Huling, Justin Hagberg and William Schwanke.

Depth could be a concern early in the season with a number of young players as backups at key position, including a freshmen group that Penley praised, but that figures to improve with experience.

The Knights scrimmaged General McLane and Corry last weekend, and Penley feels like that was a great tune-up.

“The guys up front graded out really well against General McLane and Corry,” he said.

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SHEFFIELD (0-0) at ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC (0-0)

Sheffield begins the first of four games against Allegany Mountain League South opponents with a trip to Elk County Catholic Friday night. The Wolverines were outscored by the South 196-9 last season and head coach Dave Fitch knows his team will need to control the tempo if they hope to stay in the game.

“To be successful we need to shorten the game and keep the clock running,” he said. “We want to establish the run, eliminate possessions (for our opponents) and get two to three first downs per series.”

To do that, Sheffield will look for tailback Kevin Evans to carry the load. Evans had 80 carries last season for 413 yards and three touchdowns. Fitch said the Wolverines will attempt to use the run to set up their play-action passing game. Quarterback Cale Albaugh, 39/111 for 495 yards with five touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2016, will have to break in a pair of new receivers in Josh Aguido and Elmont Leggett. He will have a familiar face back at tight end as Matt Dunham caught eight passes for 57 yards last season.

The key this week remains the run game though.

“It’s not going to work if we have to be a pass-first team,” Fitch said. “We definitely have to establish the run and I feel pretty confident the kids understand the importance of that.”

Fitch expects the Crusaders will bring heavy pressure early to take the Wolverines out of their game. The Crusaders run a base 4-4 scheme, but have a tendency to bring pressure from the secondary. They will also play bump coverage to neutralize Sheffield’s speed on the outside.

“They’re going to come at us, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

Defensively, Sheffield will have to stay disciplined against ECC’s single-wing offense.

“If we start chasing all that garbage (misdirection), they’re going to bust one off,” Fitch said.

Sheffield’s coaches were able to identify reads to counter the misdirection, but it will be up to the players to follow the reads and not the motion.

The Crusaders lost nearly every starter from a season ago and have only a single senior this year. Yet, the returning players have stepped almost seamlessly into their new roles as starters, Fitch said.

“I was very surprised how good they ran the offense,” he said. “They did a nice job putting their system in and looked like they had command of the offense against Smethport.”

Fitch believes the Wolverines have the right mix of speed and skill to slow down the Crusaders and keep the game from getting out of hand.

“It all depends on how the kids read their reads,” Fitch said. “We’ve gotta take care of business.”