Stephanie Sturgis - Press Sports Editor
Posted: Thursday, August 20, 2009 4:07 pm

Down, Set ... — The Greenfield Yellowjacket offense, including (facing, from left) Steven Sawyers, Payton Page, Ty Smithson and Brody Cogburn will try to put points on the board against the Dresden Lions when the two county rivals clash Friday night.

It's only one game out of 10, but the Dresden Lions and the Greenfield Yellowjackets would both love to get the 2009 season off to a great start with a victory when they meet at 7:30 on Friday night at the Lions' Rotary Field in Dresden.
The Lions have shown signs of life in the preseason after suffering through two miserable seasons. The last win Dresden enjoyed came two years ago when the Lions stopped these Greenfield Yellowjackets 35-20 in their opening match-up of the 2007 season. In the 19 games since then, Dresden has been repeatedly dropped into the loss column.
The Lions are carrying the momentum from their jamboree win over South Fulton into the meeting with their county rival. Dresden's revamped spread offense showed big play potential in the win. The Lions also got hard runs from Zach Jolley and Daniel Janes.
However, in the preseason victory, Dresden still committed the penalties and turnovers that plagued it the last two seasons. The Lions have improved, but not enough to be able to successfully overcome mistakes.
The Jackets want to make it two wins in a row over Dresden to get their season off to a good start. Greenfield's offense finished the preseason with a flourish, scoring three touchdowns against Fulton City in its final jamboree showing after being held out of the end zone in the first two preseason scrimmages.
Greenfield will try to mix the runs and passes to keep the Lion defense on its heels. Quarterback Ty Smithson connected on 4-of-6 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns against Fulton City, while running back Tyler Dunning regularly had big holes to run through in the win.
The Yellowjackets aren't about to overlook Dresden, but the Lions want to send a message to every other team on their schedule. Only one team will get what they want — a victory to open the 2009 season.