The new head coaches for the Fayette and Harrisburg high school football teams were awarded their first looks at their respective teams Friday night at the annual preseason jamboree held at Central Methodist University’s Davis Field.

Kole Hinton and his Falcons faced off against Lewis & Clark Conference rivals Harrisburg, and Salisbury, along with North Callaway, in the controlled scrimmage. The majority of Fayette’s success came against Salisbury. Hinton said he knew the way the Panthers played and was able to prepare a game plan.

The Falcons only play against North Callaway in the jamboree, and Harrisburg is one of several local teams with a new head coach, meaning their play styles were virtually unknown to Hinton before the first snaps.

On Friday, Fayette opens the season at home against another area team with a new head coach. Carrollton and the Falcons will kickoff at 7 p.m.

“They have a new coach, so we don’t know exactly what to expect,” Hinton said. “Once we get eyes on their jamboree, we will put together a game plan and install it Monday.”

But it will be more than just game planning for the Falcons this week. Sophomore running back Carter Vroman is one of Fayette’s most experienced players on both sides of the ball. And while he gave an impressive first look Friday, Hinton said his team can’t rely on one player.

“Carter looked good for a sophomore. Like I told the team, he can’t run every time and make every tackle,” he said.

Likewise, new starting quarterback Kaleb Friebe showed his inexperience at the position after mainly playing wide receiver a year ago. Early on in the jamboree, especially, he struggled with low snaps in the shotgun, delaying the start of the plays and throwing off timing.

“Friebe struggled,” Hinton said. “This is his first time really getting legitimate snaps. He’s young, but I trust him. Things are going to happen, but we’re going to work through those.

“We are young. We don’t have to build Rome today,” Hinton added. “But, if we want to be successful now, we need to figure out things a little bit quicker than we have. I think there’s room for improvement. You’re always disappointed in the outcome if it’s not what you’ve prepared.”

Friday’s season opener begins at 7 p.m. Fayette has won the last four matchups and holds a 6-3 record against the Trojans dating back to 2016.

For Harrisburg, the jamboree marked the first time first-year head coach Brennan Claas’s Bulldogs were able to line up in full formation. With just 19 players on the roster this season, Harrisburg is not able to hold full scrimmages during practices.

“It was nice seeing someone else. It was time to line up against somebody else, someone who didn’t know what we were doing,” Claas said. “We can’t practice like that because of our numbers. So that’s valuable for us.”

Like any preseason scrimmage, coaches find out quickly how their schemes work against opponents. Claas said after Friday’s jamboree that there were highs and lows. “There were some really good things. There are some things we’re going to look at on film Monday, and we have to work on them. It’s all about getting better, day by day.”

The Bulldogs open the season Friday with a long road trip to Cabool. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. To read the full season preview for Harrisburg, turn to Page 6 of this newspaper.