Freeport coach Bill Dillen liked some of the things he saw in his team's 15-0 victory over Knoch last Friday.

The game lasted one half due to lightning, but Dillen hopes things will continue as the Yellowjackets host McGuffey Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"I thought we moved the ball well and played good defense," said Dillen. "It would have been nice to finish the game.

"(Knoch coach) Mike (King) and I talked about it at halftime. There was so much emotion, up and down, and thought it was best to call it. The officials agreed too," Dillen added.

Freeport had touchdowns from Nate Kurtz and Kory Micholas and the defense allowed just 44 total yards against the Knights.

Now, they face a McGuffey team is trying to rebound from last year's 1-9 record, where they were outscored 319-113.

The Highlanders lost to Peters Township 22-13, although McGuffey led 7-0 at the break.

Garrett Hunter rushed for 101 yards, including a 24-yard scoring run. Chris Sibert accounted for the Highlanders' other touchdown, a 77-yard run.

"They have nice size and a nice fullback (in Hunter)," said Dillen. "They're putting a new system. We'll just go and see what happens. They were 1-9 last year, but I think they've improved.

"They have big size up front and they'll utilize that."

Summit Academy (0-1) at New Brighton (1-0), 7:30 p.m. -

New Brighton got its season started on the right foot last weekend as it upended Rochester 27-14.

Quarterback Damon Neal threw a pair of touchdown passes to Kevin Majzlik and rushed for two more scores in the win over the No. 4 ranked Class A team in the state.

New Brighton led 21-14 at halftime before lightning forced the game to be continued on Saturday. The game was called with 3:48 left in the third quarter because of bad weather.

The Knights are coming off a 35-0 loss to Beaver, totaling just 90 yards of offense. Sophomore running back Jemelle Simpson led the Knights with 43 yards rushing on 10 carries.

A-C Valley at Clarion-Limestone , 7 p.m. -

The Falcons will begin the Randy Lemmon era with the stiffest of tests.

Clarion-Limestone, the two-time defending District 9 Class A champion, has not lost a regular season game since dropping a 25-7 decision to Karns City in the 2001 opener; a span of 26 games.

"Being that this is my first year, it would be nice if we had a few more weeks to prepare for a team of their caliber," said Lemmon. "But that's what the schedule says."

After losing three all-state performers to graduation, the Lions may not prove to be as strong as they were the last two seasons, but will still have a potent offense with senior Hayden Johnston at quarterback.

Last year, Johnston passed for 1,546 yards and 24 touchdowns on a team that went 12-1 and made it to the PIAA western semifinals.

"We need to keep him from getting the big plays," said Lemmon. "Hayden's going to get his yards, but we need to make sure they come in smaller chunks.

"It's not going to be any one player's responsibility to contain him. Everybody's got to be doing their job."

Grove City at Harbor Creek, 7 p.m.

- This won't be the easy opener Grove City had last season.

The Eagles face Harbor Creek, a team that went 7-2 last season and one that has its entire backfield returning.

"They offer a lot of challenges," said Grove City coach Jeff Bell. "Both on offense and defense."

Harbor Creek will show a lot of different looks on both sides of the ball, but will ride the running of Dave Murzynski, who has gained more than 1,000 yards each of the last two seasons.

Last year, Grove City opened the season with a 61-0 thumping of Mercyhurst Prep, but was sloppy the following week in a loss against Greenville.

Bell is hoping the tougher opponent will lead to a tougher team.

"I think it might be good," Bell said. "Last year was good because we were able to get everyone in the game and if we made a mistake, we could iron out all the wrinkles," Bell said. "But it didn't prepare us for Greenville. Hopefully, we will play well and win."

Redbank Valley at Union

- Redbank is thinking playoffs. Union is thinking one play at a time.

The Bulldogs move to Class AA and into a division with an open playoff tournament.

And they boast of experience, with Skyler Smith returning at fullback. Smith rushed for 727 yards and six touchdowns last season.

Union has just 20 players on its roster and only two seniors.

And the Golden Knights have a new coaching staff.

Union will run the wing-T and will hope deception and trickery will be enough.