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Talawanda High School's football team opens its 2008 season at home tonight, Aug. 22, hosting the Eaton Eagles in a game that has become a traditional first game of the year and a close-fought contest.

The Braves have come up on the short end of some close games with Eaton in recent years, but hope to turn that around tonight.

They'll have to do it with some question marks in their lineup after losing a lot of talent to graduation last year, but coach Mike Wright expects some guys to step up to the challenge.

"We're excited to get on the field," he said after weeks of practice have given the coaching staff a good look at those players.

The Braves posted 6-4 records the past two seasons, but had 4-1 records in their league games both seasons, pointing to a slow start with improvement as the seasons went on.

"Our goal is to improve on that, and we have the potential to do that," Wright said, but then quickly added a comment given by one of his players, "Potential just means you haven't done anything yet."

He hopes to see that potential converted into results starting tonight.

While the Braves lost a lot last year to graduation, they do have some experience back at key positions, most notably at quarterback, where senior Braden Park is back for his third year as a starter, and at linebacker where senior Noah Krall has been a starter since his freshman year.

Park and Krall are two of the four co-captains this year, along with seniors Devonte' Duncan and Josh Wright.

"They are doing a nice job of leading the team in the right direction," Wright said.

The Braves have some holes to fill this season, but the biggest gaps are on the offensive and defensive lines. It's an old axiom in football that "It all starts up front," and Wright said the coaches have been looking hard at players on the lines.

"The offensive line is the uncertainty," Wright said. "Matt Sherman is the only offensive lineman returning from last year, and we have eight or nine guys vying for the other five positions. The biggest uncertainty is who will line up up front."

It's a similar situation on defense.

"Defensively, Noah (Krall) is our leader. At middle guard, (sophomore) Michael Krall will start. (Junior) Brett Catania, (senior Alex Calhoun) and (junior) Jake Adelsperger will rotate in," the coach said.

"The defense up front is uncertain. We have (junior) Kyle Messeling, (senior) Travis Reffitt, (junior) Matt Sherman, (junior) Cody Glaab, (junior) Russ Karagos and (senior) Kyle Bush and of the six, we hope three can do the job up front."

Park expressed confidence in the offensive line as well as the senior leadership for 2008.

"I have confidence in the line. They are young but getting better every day," Park said. "If they give me room, we will be good. ... We are not big, but we've got speed."

Wright emphasized what he sees as a team strength with the skill positions.

"At the offensive skill positions, (junior) Demarcus Dickerson will carry a big load at running back," he said. "Alex Calhoun will be the other running back. The receiving corps is pretty talented. (Senior) Devonte' Duncan, (senior) Josh Wright, (senior) Ross Mallally, (senior) Shawn Ashdown and (junior) Michael Jarvi will come to play. (Sophomore) Marshall Newman will get some catches, too."

He said that the secondary has many of the same names as the receiving corps — Duncan, Wright, Dickerson, Jarvi, Newman.

"We have good depth," the coach said.

Tonight's opener pits the Braves against a team that has become a traditional foe. The Eaton Eagles have prevailed for the past three years, but Coach Wright pointed out that all three were competitive games, decided by a margin of less than a touchdown. Eaton has turned itself into a playoff contender every year, making the matchup one that can be an indicator of playoff possibilities.

"Eaton was young last year, so they played a lot of juniors. They will be a senior-dominated team this year. It's been a competitive game for three years. We just came up short. It's always kind of one-score game."

The early season will be much of the same. Wright said the Braves will be playing a tough nonleague schedule to get ready for Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division games.

"Eaton, Kings, Harrison are all playoff teams in the past four years. There are no cupcakes. The goal is for us to have the challenges to prepare for the league schedule. It will be a battle, but that's when you become a good team."

Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or bratterman@coxohio.com.