Rudder will get its first chance to make a good second impression when the Rangers open their 2009 football season with a road game against Cleveland on Friday.

The Rangers will begin their second season of varsity football still looking for their first victory after going 0-8 last year. Rudder's first varsity game was a 48-0 home loss to the Indians, who went on to reach the second round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs.

Although the Rangers are no longer brand new, they still have no seniors. Most analysts give Rudder no chance of winning its opener: The Harris Ratings list Cleveland as a 40-point favorite for the 7:30 p.m. game, matching the biggest spread in the state among 3A teams not playing against an opponent from a lower classification.

However, Rudder players and coaches will enter their second season feeling much better about their ability to compete at the varsity level.

"There's no doubt we are a better football team than we were last year," Rudder coach C.M. Pier said. "We're a lot stronger than we were. We're smarter football-wise. We're just better-prepared. Hopefully that's going to translate into some wins."

Cleveland won the District 22-3A championship last year and finished 10-1 after falling to Rockdale in the area round of the playoffs. The Indians opened the season last week by beating Hardin-Jefferson 35-7.

"They are good," Pier said. "They're just like Navasota, Cameron and Caldwell. They've got great athletes. They've got big, strong physical people up front.

"What I want us to do is play a good football game, technically, across the board. I don't want us to go over there and play poorly. I want us to play good technical football and let things happen."

Five Cleveland players ran for touchdowns against Hardin-Jefferson. Four scores were 20 yards or longer, including a 78-yard dash by Trey Richardson and a 61-yarder by Tyrell Franks.

"Any time you go on the road and beat a playoff team from the year before, that's always a good thing," Cleveland coach Ricky Tullos said. "Offensively, I felt like we played pretty well. Defensively, we made some mistakes that we have to get better at. We have to tackle better."

Despite the lopsided victory over Rudder last year, Tullos said he does not expect the Indians to overlook the Rangers.

"They look much better on film," Tullos said. "I told the kids all week that they're a much better team and we better be ready to play."

Size and speed are not the only areas in which the Rangers have changed since last year's opener. Rudder will offer some different threats on offense. Kyle Danford will play quarterback, where he performed well late last season after being moved there because of injuries. Tre Hammond, who started at quarterback against Cleveland, will play running back.

On defense, Rudder will be without tackle Quarry Smith, who is scheduled to have shoulder surgery next week and is expected to miss the entire season.

Several Rangers will be able to play in the opener after recovering from injuries that might have prevented them from playing if Rudder had opened on Week Zero.

"Cleveland doesn't have to worry about the pregame jitters you get from being in the first contest, and that is somewhat of an edge," Pier said. "At the same time, we did have two weeks to prepare for them. There's pluses and minuses on both sides of that."

RUDDER FOOTBALL

* Friday's game: Rudder (0-0) at Cleveland (1-0), 7:30 p.m.

* Radio: Live audio available on KNDE's (95.1 FM) HD radio 3 and at http://www.bryanbroadcasting.com/rangers