Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

Tonight's preseason games

MITCHELL AT SPRINGSTEAD

WHERE: Booster Stadium.

OUTLOOK: Mitchell coach Scott Schmitz knows who's going to start this year. So while no positions are up for grabs tonight, some backups will get playing time. "We've got some No. 2s who aren't very far from being No. 1s," he said. More important, Schmitz will be looking for something specific from his team: "I want to see our toughness. I want to see if we're tough enough mentally to think about winning a district or conference championship."

WHERE: Raider Field.

OUTLOOK: The most intriguing experiment in Pasco County football begins. Pasco will platoon two talented quarterbacks, option-minded Kyle Hobbs and athletic, cannon-armed Tony Smith. Coach Dale Caparaso doesn't know how that's going to work, or how his talented but inconsistent Pirates will perform tonight. "It would not surprise me to go out and have a tremendous amount of success," he said. "It would not surprise me to get beat 48-7, either. But neither will be an indication of what kind of football team we can be."

WHERE: Cobra Stadium.

OUTLOOK: First-year coach Mark Nash's tenure begins, but how much of his new multiple offense and 4-6 defense will he expose to prying eyes? The Cobras' biggest task is to solidify the last remaining offensive line position, quickside tackle. "We've got a couple of kids battling it out," Nash said, "and we're looking for who's going to make the play." Defense also has question marks all over the roster. "We've never played this defense," Nash said, "so we have a lot of kids in positions they haven't played. And we need to stay healthy. That's the main thing."

WHERE: Shark Field, Riverview.

OUTLOOK: It's preseason, which means it's time for Wesley Chapel coach John Castelamare's annual hand-wringing. The Wildcats return a superb backfield and great line, but graduation hit the other side of the ball. "We're going to find out how good our defense is," he said. "Offensively, we'll work out 2-3 spots, rotating people. We've got to put the right people in the right spot and we don't have that set right now." Center, offensive guard, tight end and wingback are areas of concern.

WHERE: W.D. "Des" Little Stadium.

OUTLOOK: Coach Keith Newton said he's looking forward to watching the Alton Voss era start at quarterback. The sophomore missed the spring with a broken hand, but has vastly improved since the start of training camp. But what Newton really wants to see is an end to the offensive line's growing pains. "We've got to make sure we correct as many mental mistakes as possible," Newton said. "We're not big and we're young, but we can get the job done."

KICKOFF: 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Bulldog Stadium.

OUTLOOK: Palmetto "from what I hear, they're loaded" as Zephyrhills coach Tom Fisher said, so the inexperienced Bulldogs will be thrown into the fire right away. The big question is quarterback: Who will win the job? Senior Joseph Burgess, junior Joshua Mast or sophomore Sederrik Cunningham? The backfield needs to be settled, too. But overall Fisher wants to see how his rookies handle their first varsity action. "We'll see how they handle it," he said.

WHERE: Panther Stadium.

OUTLOOK: This is strange: Lecanto wants to start the junior varsity. So Ridgewood coach Troy Cornwell is bringing 20 JV players along. But Cornwell really wants to see his new varsity starters, especially quarterback Justin Pena. "I'm looking to see how we react to Friday night conditions," Cornwell said. The coach is also excited to see freshman running back David Williams, who will get plenty of reps behind the county's rushing-title holder, Mike Galizia.

- JAMAL THALJI, Times staff writer