With East Rankin up first, this is expected to be Pillow Academy's toughest season-opening opponent in Michael Fair's four-year tenure as head coach.
The Mustangs and the Patriots will square off at 7 p.m. Friday at PA's Bill Davis Field.
"East Rankin is a much tougher opener than we've had the last three years (beating Kirk 37-10 last year and 42-0 in 2009 and whipping Lee 31-7 in 2008). We're going against a very talented team, and our kids know that," said Fair, who led the Mustangs to a State AAA Division II championship in 2010.
The Mustangs are familiar with the Patriots after having beaten them the last two years in the first round of the playoffs (27-14 in 2009 and 28-17 last season).
"The first year we played them, they had a strong group of sophomores. Well, those sophomores are now seniors. They have a very experienced team," said Fair, who is 26-9 in three seasons at Pillow.
East Rankin returns seven starters on both sides of the ball from a team that went 3-9 last season.
Offensively, the Patriots are led by junior Jacob Wheldon, who is a dangerous dual-threat quarterback.
"He can cause serious problems when he breaks out of the pocket because he is a threat to beat you with his feet or his arm," Fair said.
Defensively, the Patriots are led by a strong line, which is anchored by senior Tyler Gray.
The Mustangs will have new starters all over the field Friday night, but the team comes in confident after looking sharp in last week's jamboree.
"There are some areas of concern with a lot of young guys who haven't played much high school football. But one thing I am not concerned about is us playing hard," Fair said. "I can tell you that we will get after it."
• Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
