When: Friday, Aug. 30Where: St. Dominic High School.Time: 7 p.m.Coaches: Warrenton — Steve McDowell. St. Dominic — Jim Cook.Records: Warrenton — 0-0. St. Dominic — 0-0.Last Year’s Meeting: These programs met twice last year, both in the season opener and finale. St. Dominic claimed both meetings, winning the first contest 41-20 and taking the second 35-8. The primary factor in both was Warrenton’s inability to stop the Crusaders bruising ground game. St. Dominic piled up 286 yards on the ground during the opener. Warrenton struck first on a touchdown run by quarterback T.J. Lafaver, but St. Dominic rattled off three unanswered scores by halftime. Lafaver scored on another run in the second half and also connected with Trevor Bradshaw on a scoring toss.Outlook: McDowell is expecting St. Dominic to bring a similar attack again this Friday, operating out of a Pro Set the majority of the time. The Crusaders lost a wealth of talent to graduation, but so did Warrenton. McDowell says the opposition doesn’t look “as big and dominant as last year,” when they had a considerable size and strength advantage against the Warriors. McDowell says he’s confident about the matchup and has his team focusing more on itself than St. Dominic. Warrenton’s goal is to put the Crusaders into situations where they’re forced to throw the ball. Defensively, McDowell is expecting a 4-4 approach, a contrast to the St. Dominic’s 3-4 look from previous years. “To run a three-man defense, you’ve got to be big up front, and they’ve lost a lot of their size. They were much bigger and more physical last year.”Focal Points: Exciting aspects to watch are how well the Warriors can run block for a pair of first-year varsity running backs whom McDowell has spoken highly of. Given the opportunity to get out in space, Drake Wagner is a potential danger with his speed, and McDowell was also pleased with the effort by Dane Huck in the Jamboree.

Warrenton will travel to St. Dominic tonight for the opening game of the season.

Bill Barrett Photo.