Columbia at Eastern York
The Crimson Tide has struggled with low roster numbers and middling on-field results for the last few years, but there's hope for a turnaround this season under third-year coach Bud Kyle. Columbia has 33 players out for the program heading into Friday's opener, preseason reports say, and 22 of those guys are returning starters. So the Tide has enough experience and (they hope) enough depth to improve on last year's three-win campaign. Quarterback Matt McCleary, who passed for just shy of 1,900 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, returns to lead an offense that includes wideouts Ryan Redding, Terrance Elliott, Demetrius Diaz-Ellis, and Darnell Tucker, who combined to account for more than 1,700 receiving yards and 15 TDs in 2018.
Eastern also posted a 3-7 record last season, despite putting up fantastic offensive numbers all year long. The Golden Knights ranked fifth among York-Adams teams in scoring (32.5 points per game) and was sixth in total yards (372 yards per game), but coach Josh Campbell's squad lost wideouts Demonte Martin and Dylan Zurin from that attack. That said, quarterback Trevor Seitz, who threw for more than 2,800 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior, returns to guide Eastern under center, and Kaleb Corwell, who will line up in the backfield and out on the flanks, looks like a guy Seitz will target a ton. Look for a lot of big numbers from Eastern again.