Wright City coach James Weir got an assessment of his extremely inexperienced football team during its Friday night jamboree at Hermann. The Wildcats competed against Cuba, Montgomery County and the host team, playing an offensive and defensive series of 12 plays against each. Weir says his intentions were to get everyone involved before Friday's season opener against Palmyra, so the varsity took the field on the opening series and gave way to the younger players against the next two opponents. "We figure there's no reason to have our varsity guys in there for 36 plays on offense," said Weir. "We want everybody to have a chance to get out there, make some hits and get a feel for the action." The Wildcats' varsity opened against Hermann, chipping away yards with first-year quarterback Nick Hanff carrying the ball. Wright City also looked to the air on several occasions. Weir says he wasn't looking for any dazzling plays, stating that there's nothing glamorous about the Wildcats' offense. It's just effective. "With the varsity group we didn't have any play less than five yards, and that's how our offense works," said Weir. "It's the wear-down factor." He says he had very few complaints about his team's performance. "I loved the effort everybody gave," said Weir. "Overall, I was pleased with probably 90 percent of the stuff. I told our guys that we don't have to score touchdowns here. I just want to see progress and effort here." Hanff and fellow junior Rico Blanks are taking over substantial roles as rare returning starters on the team. "Nick and Rico are great leaders," said Weir. "They didn't have to be last year. They just kind of let their play speak for them. We've got a good group of juniors that are going to be leaders on the team." Blanks says it hasn't taken some time to get used to the new responsibility of being in the forefront. "Now I've got to step up and be a leader," said Blanks. "I can't relax. I've got to worry about other people's positions." Blanks adds that this year's veterans are going to need to be patient with the underclassmen, giving them guidance on how to handle their positions. The Wildcats return just four starters on the defensive side of the ball. "I like how things came together on defense," said Blanks. "Our blocking is getting better, but we need to work on our pass rush on offense. I like seeing the progress that's going on right now though." Wright City opens the regular season at home against Palmyra on Friday at 7 p.m.