Published: September 05, 2008 12:15 am      

Can youthful Huskies slow down Wolves?

Last season when North and Santa Fe faced off, the Huskies were trying to find themselves. The same holds true this season as the teams open the season with Edlam tonight at UCO’s Wantland Stadium.

“We’re inexperienced. At the team meeting today I asked the players with game experience to stand up, and we only had five,” North head coach Jeremy Dombek said. “I think we should be better defensively, because we have more speed, but at the same time I’m anxious to see how the guys react in a game like this.”

Santa Fe had several big offensive plays last season in a 42-20 win. And most of the guys that made those plays are back.

Guys like Steve Sumpter, who became the teams main running back after Randy Ponder went down with a knee injury in week one. Of course, Ponder is going to be back there, too.

“Tackling. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us. If you give them any space, they will make you miss. Santa Fe is so athletic,” Dombek said.

The No. 8-ranked Wolves head into the game with loads of confidence. And why they should. The current seniors on the Santa Fe roster have yet to finish a season without the city championship.

Santa Fe will have more stability on offense than a year ago, with a full-time starter in quarterback Michael Hodges. Hodges torched the Husky defense on the third play of last year’s Edlam battle with a 45-yard touchdown pass. He also had a 57-yard touchdown pass to Sumpter.

The experience Wolves jumped out to 35-7 lead early in the third quarter.

And the scary thing is Hodges has done nothing but improve. Plus, Ponder will not be on the sidelines standing on crutches.

North enters the year with a new starter at quarterback in Cody Crabaugh. Junior tailback Joe Aska is also a first time starter. So the important thing for North is not to get in a hole early like they did a year ago.

“We have more ability from top to bottom than we did a year ago,” Dombek said. “More team speed than we did last year. But we had seniors last year. We may not have had returning starters, but we had guys that had varsity action. Like I said, I am anxious to see how my guys react.

“(Edlam) is great. I’m at the Memorial game right now, and I just can’t wait to get out there on the field watching these guys.”

Santa Fe has won three straight in the series, including the last two by a combined score of 76-27.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30.