The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Bulldogs head coach Dean Bickel­haupt and his players are ready for their first test of the season: Thursday night's matchup against the Mac Hi Pioneers. And it doesn't faze the team to have only 19 eligible players.

"We're ready," Bickel­haupt said about the home game that kicks off at 7 pm. "They're excited about it. We'll see how we do."

After ending the 2012 season with a 1-8 record, the 'Dogs hope to improve their fortunes with an influx of six freshmen, some of whom Bickelhaupt described as a crop of players not unlike re­cent graduates that included Colton Bickehaupt, Kroft Sunderland and Hayden Fullerton.

In this case, the names to watch are starting players Cal Martin (linebacker and O line), Ben Kleck (running back and defensive back) and Tristan Willis (center) among the group of six freshmen noted for their pas­sion for the pigskin.

"They love the game of football," Bickelhaupt said. "It's a good class. They have speed and some size. We haven't had that (kind of new blood) for a while."

The new group makes up nearly a third of the 19 play­ers on Bickelhaupt's 2013 roster. Those low numbers will pose the same chal­lenge as in previous years when Dayton had at most two dozen Bulldogs for the gridiron.

Compared to the neigh­boring Cardinals, who drew 44 players from Waitsburg, Prescott and Jubilee, Dayton has fewer than half as many players. In the past year, the lack of players to substitute simply wore the Bulldogs down in most of their games' second halves.

Bickelhaupt said he's hoping to avoid that through better conditioning.

"They know that we have to get them in superior shape because we do not have a lot of kids to sub in," he said. "But they're hard-working. Hopefully, we can compete the full 48 minutes."

To spearhead the offense, the coach is counting on quarterback Christian War­ner, who played wide receiv­er last year. He was backup QB the previous year and was told at the end of the 2012 season to get ready for the top job.

At 5'8," Warner is about the size of former QB Colton Bickelhaupt. He's also fast and handles the option well, the coach said. "He knows what he has to do."

Coach Bickelhaupt diagrams a play for his team during practice in August.

Warner is among four returning seniors. The others are full back Guy Spellinger, running back Lowden Smith and lineman Robert Loper. The four veterans are taking the younger players under their wing and showing leadership on the field, said Bickelhaupt, who started practices along with all other teams across the state on Aug. 21.

The team is rounded out by four juniors and five sophomores to fill the count to 19, the fewest number of Bulldogs Dayton has had in recent years (the team had 24 in 2012 and 21 in 2011). Be­sides forcing most players to play offense and defense all the time, such low numbers pose another risk, Bickel­haupt said. The Bulldogs can't afford any injuries. "I think we're pretty com­petitive, but we have to stay healthy or we'll be in trou­ble," the head coach said.