The Wright City football team might see its toughest individual opponent of the season in its first game this year.

But don’t take my word for it.

“We’re probably going to play the best kid we’ll play all year in our first game,” Wright City football Head Coach Jeff Sargent said Tuesday.

His name is Collin Sutton, the senior quarterback at Winfield (3-6), who helped lead the Warriors to a 45-24 win over Wright City in last year’s opener.

Sutton threw for 285 yards, rushed for 189, and threw four touchdowns in his team’s victory.

“He’s a special kind of player, and he’s just one of those kids that you have to game plan for,” Sargent said. “The entire defense has to be aware. This year he looks a lot better than what he did last year and the game just looks really easy for him.”

But no matter how talented Sutton is, Sargent was quick to point out the obvious.

“But that’s just the one guy,” he added. “We also have a very good quarterback in Sean (McDonald) and I think we match up really well with them at every other position. So when we look at the matchups, it’s going to be all about containing Sutton and making the least amount of mistakes. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes should win the game. We need to limit the penalties and turnovers.”

Wright City played with a first-year starting quarterback — McDonald — and struggled defensively in the loss.

 McDonald completed 9-of-27 passes for 218 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in last year’s game.

Six of those nine completions went to senior receiver Devon Holmes, who finished with 117 yards and one touchdown.

This year, the Wright City defense gets a boost from Ken Brown, who returned to the program as defensive coordinator.

“It’s just a life-saver that Coach Brown came back,” Sargent said. “He’s helped dramatically with everything. The kids understand our concepts and coverages now, and that was a big part of the problem in the past. I think we're going to have a very good defense this year. Are we going to shut every team out? No, but I do think we’re going to make a lot of plays that are going to be game changers.”

Brown’s first test might be his toughest, and Sargent is glad they’ll get to play in front of their home crowd.

“It’s always good to open up at home. You’re always a little more relaxed and things are a little more easy for you. However, it couldn’t really matter. You have your home stuff and you have your away stuff. But we’re fortunate to have more games than away games this year.”

Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Wright City.