A retooled defensive and offensive line will get their first taste of action when the Friday Harbor Wolverines open the 2010 season Friday on the road at La Conner.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m.

Graduation can take a heavy toll on the starting lineup on both sides of the ball, a fact of life year-in and year-out for any head coach in the high school ranks.

And this season, Friday Harbor Head Coach Darrin Scheffer and company will take the field without five seniors who a year ago started on the offensive line, several of whom were among a battle-tested group of seniors that together made up the defensive squad’s starting front seven as well.

But after two weeks of squaring off against each other in practice, Scheffer said the team is hungry to test its mettle.

“We’ve got a brand new offensive line that’s eager to go and we’re excited,” said Scheffer, now in his fourth year as head coach. “So far, we’ve made great progress.”

The Wolverines are coming off an up-and-down 2009 campaign, which they finished 3-7 overall. They defeated all three Division 2B opponents, including a 49-12 romp over La Conner at home, but were winless a year ago in seven bouts against Division 1A foes.

A formidable opponent in years past, the Braves have fallen on hard times of late. They were outscored a year ago 353-155 in 10 games and finished the ’09 season at 1-9. They’re 0-3 against the Wolverines in the Scheffer era and have been outscored 113-25 in their last three meetings against Friday Harbor.

Still, Scheffer expects the Braves, with a new head coach at the helm, will have a few new wrinkles in store for Friday’s season opener. He’ll be relying heavily on the team’s veterans, such as seniors Tanner Buck and Roy Taylor, for help in running the show on the field.

“We’ve got a very young team overall,” Scheffer said. “Freshman and sophomores make up more than half the team. We’re counting on this year’s seniors to push us through.”

Second up for the Wolverines will be the Island Cup, the team’s annual inter-island grudge match against the Orcas Vikings. Friday Harbor defeated the Vikings at Orcas a year ago in overtime. Kick off for the Island Cup is 6:45 p.m. Sept. 10 in Friday Harbor.

Next week
— Get your annual Fall Sports Preview in the Sept. 8 Journal of the San Juan Islands.