No softies in Week 0

The first football game is always special. It's a night made for goosebumps.

Those goosebumps get a little bigger when you face a big-time opponent.

Merced will have that opportunity tonight when it opens the season against Fresno Bullard at McLane High, which is ranked No. 31 in the state by ESPN CalHiSports.

"The game is getting a lot of attention locally," Merced coach Rob Scheidt said. "It's going to be on 1430 ESPN radio. CalHiSports ranked Bullard pretty high in its state rankings.

"We're back in a big-game atmosphere. It's kind of been that way for us in (our first week) ever since we played Crenshaw.

"We're excited about it, and I'm excited that our kids get to play in that atmosphere."

Merced is one of six area teams kicking off their season tonight.

Golden Valley, Buhach Colony, Los Banos, Dos Palos and Stone Ridge Christian will also be in action.

All games are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Merced will have a lot of new faces this year with stars like Bernard Bolden, Stephon Mathis and Kenny Cooper gone.

"We have a good group of guys," Scheidt said. "In no way do I think we're in way over our head.

"I expect a great effort, and we'll execute the best we can and hope we put ourselves in a position to win it down the stretch."

Bullard gives Merced plenty of reasons to be concerned, starting with quarterback Kerr Taubler

"Bullard returns a number of guys that make expectations for a great football team," Scheidt said. "They're quarterback is very athletic. He does a great job of throwing the football and he can make plays with his feet.

"They have a good 1-2 punch at tailback. Their offensive line is well-coached. You don't see them missing blocks and they're very physical."

Golden Valley will host North Monterey County at Cougar Stadium.

It will be the second time GV's hosted a home football game.

Jon Betschart's boys will be looking to start the season on a positive note after struggling through a 1-9 season.

"The kids are ready to go," said Betschart, whose team will try to avenge a 35-26 loss to North Monterey last year. "The anticipation is the toughest part because they've worked so hard all year."

Buhach Colony heads to Madera High to face Madera South, a team it beat 24-8 last fall.

Los Banos will play Fresno High at Fresno City's Ratcliffe's Stadium.

"It's going to be a good matchup to see where we're at," Los Banos coach Dennis Stubbs said.

"Obviously, it's good to get off to a good start. We only have one returning starter on the offensive line, so we need these first four games before league starts to evaluate.

"We've been consistently moving guys around trying to get the pieces of the puzzle in the right spots."