FAIRMONT - For the first time in 33 years, Fairmont and Worthington will kick off the prep football season without a familiar face along the Trojan Field sideline.
After engineering a plethora of winning campaigns and numerous memorable playoff victories, legendary Trojan mentor Dennis Hale hung up his clipboard and headset after the 2009 season.
In fact, Hale was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association's Hall of Fame this summer for all of his hard work.
"It'll definitely be different without Denny coaching across the field during this year's opener," said fourth-year Cardinal mentor Mat Mahoney, whose lineup travels to Worthington on Friday night for a 7 p.m. nonconference clash. "He is a heckuva guy and a heckuva football coach - first class all the way.
"I'll miss matching wits with him."
Now, Mahoney will get his first chance at testing his playbook and personnel against first-year Trojan head coach Brad Grimmius.
Grimmius, a former prep player under Hale and Worthington's defensive coordinator during the past two seasons, will look to put his own mark on the 2010 version of the black-and-red gridders.
While Grimmius did not return any phone calls or e-mails from the Sentinel, according to a preseason Worthington Daily Globe article, the Trojans' new coach plans to implement an offensive attack that will be 60 percent running and 40 percent passing.
"Obviously, with three big offensive linemen coming back with two years of varsity experience, an educated guess would be that they will probably run it at us," Mahoney said in reference to Trojan senior center Brett Bentele (6-foot, 310 pounds), senior tackle Jalen Voss (6-5, 250) and senior tackle Jordon Bents (6-4, 300).
Fairmont defensive coordinator Brad Johnson will look to counter Worthington's collegiate-sized blockers with a rebuilt front foursome, spearheaded by 6-6, 325-pound junior tackle Branch Johnson.
Doug Verhaal, a 6-3, 210-pound senior, will flank Johnson at the other defensive tackle position, while Colton Higgins and Carson Ricard will handle the end responsibilities.
Like Brad Johnson, offensive coordinator Andy Traetow also faced the task of rebuilding his front five during the offseason.
Senior D.J. Moeller, the Cardinals' lone returning starter, will anchor the men in the trenches at a tackle position, with junior Marcus Asmus earning the starting spot at guard.
Senior Andy Sanden, who missed most of his junior season due to injury, will handle the snapping duties at center, while juniors Jovan Ramos and Ben Brown complete the blocking nucleus at guard and tackle, respectively.
"I've been impressed with the way that our offensive line has been finishing all of their blocks so far," said Mahoney. "Usually, the first one to get off the ball has the upperhand."
Fairmont will look to move the chains behind an entirely new backfield, led by junior quarterback Ben Kain.
Kain, however, will have returning veteran receivers to throw spirals to in senior tight end Logan Peymann and junior split end Adam Schultz.
Sophomore Bryce Holm rounds out the receiving core, while junior fullback Ross Wilken and junior halfback Alek Borchardt will handle the majority of the handoffs.
Across the field, running back sensation Mitchell Jensen - who topped the Trojans with 826 rushing yards a year ago - graduated, but 6-3, 185-pound junior Lucas Henning returns to the backfield after taking snaps at quarterback last fall.
Henning will have a pair of tall targets to throw aerials to in returning tight end Brandon Berger (6-3, 190) and 6-7, 200-pound junior split end Mitch Weg.
According to the Globe, senior Joey Kinley, junior Basey Williams and senior Matt Steffl will be three of Worthington's top candidates looking to earn a spot in the starting backfield behind Henning.
So, what will be the key to earning a victory during the two teams' longstanding traditional opener?
"Ball security on offense. One has to have a short-term memory during the first game of the season. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on," said Mahoney. "The team that eliminates mistakes the best will be in a better position to have a chance to win."
Indeed. Fairmont recovered six of Worthington's eight fumbles en route to a 33-13 victory during the 2009 season opener.