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WELLSBURG -- Brooke's 2022 season started strong with a 49-6 win on the road at Ripley before derailing a bit a few weeks later amidst a sea of injuries.
With an overwhelming majority of that team returning, head coach Mac McLean and company know the possibilities are near endless in 2023. Step one begins Friday night at Brooke Memorial when those same Vikings come calling for the two teams' third consecutive season opener.
Brooke won both previous meetings, both by decent to comfortable margins. But is McLean worried about any thoughts of overconfidence brewing in his locker room prior to Friday's kickoff?
Emphatically? No. The Bruins may have rolled, but that was last season; and, given how that season turned out, this Brooke team is hungry to prove what it's capable off and isn't about to overlook anyone.
"I think that if the season hadn't unraveled the way it did, the (overconfidence) might be a concern," McLean admitted. "But I don't think it's any secret that my players and myself felt like we underachieved last season and the injuries certainly helped that.
"This senior class wants to go out and prove something and put a good season together. I don't think we'll overlook Ripley, or anybody."
The Vikings struggled some offensively in 2022 during a 3-7 campaign as the offensive line broke in a few younger players. Those players are now a year stronger, older, and more experienced and head coach Steve Sayre is pleased with his team's strength, and the play of both the offensive and defensive lines.
The team did lose its starting quarterback in Ty Stephens, along with its second-leading rusher and top receiver.
Taking over the reins is junior Tyson Pritt, who threw only three passes as a sophomore but he is one who Sayre as been impressed with during the preseason. Pritt will be bolstered by that experienced line, plus the return of leading rusher Virgil Myers along with Aydin Domico. The pair of junior backs cut their teeth as sophomores and are looking for bigger things in 2023.
"They run off tackle and have a quick passing game," McLean said. "They will spread out a bit, but from what we can tell, they are a 50-50 football team. We'll have to defend both factors."
"(Pritt) looked like a pretty good QB, working the short passing game in the flats and distributing the ball in the scrimmages we saw."
Judging from the stats and McLean's description, the Vikings will look to be far more balanced than 2022, when the team managed only 500 yards passing to nearly 1,500 rushing.
One of the best parts for McLean is his team is getting to play this one at home as opposed to making the trek to Ripley.
"It's awesome, especially at the end of the first full week of school, the coaches are dealing with kids who are having to sit through a full day of class for the first time all summer before practice or games. The fact we don't have to get on a bus and ride for almost three hours in 90 degree weather is definitely a bonus."