By Kaila Olin

Journal contributor

This week’s Friday night lights will be spent in the Lion’s den in Concrete as Friday Harbor opens league play. The Lions are facing a difficult season as they are sitting at a 0-5 season thus far while Friday Harbor 3-1 hasn’t lost a game since their season-opening 1-point loss to South Whidbey.

The Wolverines are favored in this match-up due to their overall record. The Lions have struggled all season including 0-3 at home. The Lions are thirsty for a win, nonetheless, in front of their home crowd, but Friday Harbor is looking for payback.

Friday Harbor Tiny Radio will broadcast the game live beginning at 5:30 p.m. on fhTinyRadio.com or 1650 AM in downtown Friday Harbor.

Mike Martin will have the play-by-play and John Volk, the Color Commentary.

The last time these two teams faced each other was last season at Friday Harbor where the Wolverines fell 20-10. It will be a pretty similar rematch in the sense that most players from both sides are returning this season.

“It was a tough, physical game,” Concrete coach Marcus Carr said of their victory last season over the Wolverines. “It was a great team win, but we had to dig deep. Friday Harbor really pushed us and we pushed them right back.”

It has been the Wolverines offensive and defensive lines that have pushed teams around this season as Friday Harbor has knocked off three straight 1A opponents: Bellevue Christian, Coupeville, and Sultan. Concrete is in the same league as Friday Harbor so it is a closer match up size wise but the Wolverines still have the edge on the Lions.

This season so far, the Lions have only put 26 points on the board and have given up a whopping 201 in five games. The Wolverines, on the other hand, show the opposite with 50 points put up and only allowing 26. Friday Harbor is looking to start another shutout streak as they had their two-game shutout streak-shaped (including 12-plus quarters) last week by Sultan. Concrete has already been shut out twice this season in back to back losses to Pe Ell and Willapa Valley including four of their losses coming with 40-point mercury rule in effect.

The biggest difference this season and last season is that the Lion’s have switched from a predominate run offense to a spread offense. The Wolverines will have their hands full with the Lions three senior wide receivers, Tyler Nevin, Dalton Newby and Devin Blankenship leading the way. However, last week, at home, against the Sultan Turks Friday Harbor picked off three passes in shutting down the visitor’s passing game.

The Wolverines put the ball into the capable hands of senior tailback Emeron Geiser who has 863 rushing yards so far this season. “Emeron has been fantastic all year long,” said Friday Harbor Tiny Radio’s play-by-play announcer Mike Martin. “He an old-school back that runs behind his pads and a dominant offensive line.”

The odds of who will dominate the game are reversed this season from last, will that reflect on the scoreboard? Which type of offense will win the night? Will it be the Wolverines or the Lions that come out on top? Jaden Jones with Emeron Geiser or Peyton Sanchez with Tyler Nevin? Find out the answer to all of these questions come Friday, Sept. 28 in Concrete with kickoff at 7 p.m.