When the Rudder Ranger coaches moved into their brand-new field house, there were no phones or computers, presenting challenges from the beginning.

They knew they were coming.

Still, the early hurdle for the coaching staff should be good training for developing a work-in-progress football team. And Rudder head coach C.M. Pier, a longtime Bryan assistant before earning the Rudder job last year, knows the tests the Rangers will face as they begin play in their first season at the varsity level.

"Make no mistake, we are going out there to win, but we want to see improvement every week," Pier said. "If we do that, I will be happy."

The Rangers were 6-2 in their first freshman campaign, which was marked by cancellations and rescheduled games. This year Rudder will play a nine-game schedule and compete in District 24-3A against the likes of Navasota, Madisonville and other schools with decades of history at the varsity level.

And with juniors and seniors.

But while Rudder's team is made up of only freshmen and sophomores, it will take the field Sept. 5 at Merrill Green Stadium against Cleveland with some experience. And Pier says last year's freshman team is making the process a little easier as the new school dives head first into Texas high school football.

"Having them together last year helped, and you can tell," Pier said. "We've got some kids that are moving at a mature level."

On last year's freshman team, quarterback Tre Hammond and running backs Charlie Bush, Dakota Teague and Restevein Anderson emerged as the top rushers. Wide receivers Mike Jones and Jamie Anderson also return from the freshman team, along with tight ends Mikell Gallegher, Ty Klintworth and Craig Hartman.

Center Matt Cohan led an offensive line that included Josh Kapchinski, Kelvin Caldwell, Chris Evan and Anthony Lomuscio.

Rudder opened its freshman season with a shutout and got solid defensive efforts throughout last year. Coleton Jackson, Carone Lloyd and Hartman return on the defensive line along with ends Klintworth and Matt Fritsche. Linebackers Teague and Ezekiel Hutchson also are back. The secondary included Kyle Danford, Will Johnson, and Dominique Robison.

"We got started off on a good note," Danford said of Rudder's freshman campaign. "To get started off like that could help us in the future. We've got a positive influence going on there."

Said Hammond: "We had a good year, a great year. I feel I played pretty good, but I know I need more experience. Everybody needs more practice on the things they do."

Rudder ran most of its offense out of the I-formation.

"We'll be in some I and in some one-back stuff, the gun," Pier said. "The shotgun allows you to get away from the rush. There are some things you can do out of that shotgun stuff that you can't do out of the I. It will depend on their learning curve how much we do."

Pier can control the development of his team. As with any other season -- and for any other school, new or old -- the quality of Rudder's opponents will tell part of the story.

Rudder's schedule appears daunting.

"The size of some of the kids we will face will be an issue, and the speed of some of them will be an issue." Pier said. "Our biggest issue will be depth, because so many of them will have to play both ways. We've got to develop some quality backups to get those kids rest here and there."

In fact, Pier's No. 1 concern in this inaugural season is laying a foundation for the future, regardless of the outcomes on the scoreboard.

"Of course it's going to be tough, and anybody who thinks it's not going to be is not in the right mind," Pier said. "We are going to prepare each week to win. We will get ready to win. Now, there will be some things physically that we can't do, and we have no control over that, but we will put together a sound scheme each week and go out and play."

Experience and maturity may come through play. The Rudder head coach plans to prepare game plans as if he were coaching seniors. He is aware that they may not always play like seniors.

"At their maturity level, there are some things we won't be able to do," Pier said. "Sometimes less is more. We are going to have a nice offensive package and a nice, tight defensive package. We'll roll with that and tweak our blocking schemes and coverages to fit."

The first part of the Rudder field house that was finished was, appropriately enough, the weight room. It has a windowed view of the first-year school and the necessary tools inside to help a young team of underclassmen build itself into a varsity-level program.

"Running is running, but when you butt heads with somebody and he's stronger than you, he's going to get the best of you," Pier said. "We've got to get stronger to compete. You've got to have a measure of strength to play this game."

Concerns are natural for a young team, but enthusiasm marks the opening of Rudder's first season of varsity play.

"We get to start out a new program, so we want to start it off on a good note," Danford said. "We're going to mess up, because we're still young, but we're going to get better as time goes. I think we'll be better than most people think."

If things go well, Hammond says the future could be bright.

"[Teams] may not be looking to play us next year."

While the building blocks of Rudder High School are mostly in place, the Rudder football team is still laying concrete.

"I'm not so worried about other teams," Pier said. "I don't want that to sound bad, but we've got to do something with us -- improvement, execution, blocking , tackling and those things. If we do that, we'll be all right."

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NOTES -- Rudder is off for Week 0, giving the coaching staff an extra week to evaluate which players are ready to handle varsity competition.