No. 5-ranked Malakoff will start its season Friday night by hosting the West Rusk Raiders. The Raiders are ranked No. 15 in Class 3A DII.
The Tigers will lean on their defense as things get underway in 2023. They have several starters returning in the front seven.
"I think that's where we start," said Malakoff Coach Jamie Driskell. "Those guys are flying around, and they're being leaders."
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The Tigers won't be as experienced on the offensive side, but they will bring back quarterback Mike Jones.
"Our starting quarterback coming back is always a strength offensively," said Coach Driskell, "but we have a lot of new faces on offense."
One unsung strength for the Tigers is the continuity of the coaching staff. Defensive Coordinator Brent Watkins has been with Malakoff as long as Coach Driskell, and most of the assistant coaches have been with the Tigers for a long time.
"We're kind of a step ahead of some of the other teams because (the players) have done our system for so long offensively and defensively and they know it pretty well," said Coach Driskell.
Expect the Raiders to give the Tigers a battle. They are a playoff team from last year, and even though they have a new head coach, he was West Rusk's offensive coordinator last year.
"They're going to play hard and get after us, and they're going to try and come in here and spoil our home opener," said Coach Driskell. "Hopefully, our kids are ready to play."
Coach Driskell said energy and execution will be key Friday night.
"They have to fly around and just don't give up anything cheap," he said. "Offensively, we just need to execute. We need to handle their front with our offensive line."
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Listen to the interview to also hear Coach Driskell discuss:
* How Coach feels about his team at this point
* Filling some spots in the secondary
* More about the importance of the coaching staff
