PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Head coach Ryan Bailey addresses his varsity team during Wednesday's practice as it prepares for the season opener in Manor tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Badgers' 2007 season seemed to take an eternity.

For 10 winless games last year, time virtually stood still for the coaches, players and fans of the Lampasas High School varsity football team. The offseason was equally drawn out, as the wheels of progression slowly turned within the program.

Tonight, the days of patiently waiting for the next crack at victory come to an end.

At 7:30 p.m., the Badgers begin their 2008 regular-season schedule with a road contest against Manor, a team that can sympathize with LHS's growing pains.

Like Lampasas last year, the Mustangs enter their opening contest under new leadership with a firstyear head coach, Eric Carter, at the helm and a relatively young, inexperienced squad following his command.

Considering head coach Ryan Bailey was in a similar position last year, he believes he knows how to take advantage of the situation.

Cole Ball hones his coverage skills against Seth Fry (left) as he runs a pass route during Wednesday's practice. "They have a new coach this year, a new system, and they lost quite a few kids last year, so they're a different team right now than they were," Bailey said. "They're still introducing stuff, so they're tendency prone.

"We feel like we know what they're going to be doing just by how they line up."

One thing Bailey cannot predict is who the Mustangs will put on the field at quarterback. Seniors Riley Beecher and Stanley Norwood split playing time through the Mustangs' preseason scrimmages.

Beecher is a dual threat at the position, posting 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and another 167 yards and four scores on the ground. Norwood is more of a traditional signal-caller.

"[Beecher] is a running back when he's not a quarterback, and our whole goal on him is to corral him and tackle him," Bailey said. "We're going to make him throw it.

"[Norwood] throws the ball a little better, so when he's back there we want to put pressure on the pass. We have to do a good job of knowing who's in the game and playing accordingly."

The Badger defense works on recognizing the Mustangs' offensive formations with defensive coordinator Jimmy Randolph. The Badgers also will look to take advantage of their newly implemented offensive strategy by pounding the ball on the ground and utilizing a hurry-up style to keep the Mustangs off guard.

"We're going to get to the ball quick, snap it, hit them in the mouth and try to go forward, keep the chains moving and keep the clock going," Bailey said. "They go both ways, so we're going to try and wear them out as much as we can offensively and give our defense a rest, so when they're tired, we're not."

Bailey also believes his special teams will be critical to the Badgers' success, noting they are as good as or better than they have been since he arrived at the program three years ago.

The opening game falls during Zero Week, which has both advantages and disadvantages. It forces the Badgers onto the field a week earlier than other teams, leaving the coaching staff and players with one less week to prepare. But it also means Lampasas gets a bye week later in the season.

This year the off week comes just before district play gets under way, a scenario Bailey believes is invaluable.

"It could have worked out where we had Week 10 off, and that wouldn't have been very good," the coach said. "That might have changed my mind about it. The fact that we got open week when we did helps us out a bunch."

With the new season come new, loftier expectations. And should the Badgers find themselves victorious for the first time since drumming Dripping Springs by 20 points -- 34-14 -- in their 2006 finale, the expectations will increase even more.

Nevertheless, it is a position the team is more than willing to accept.

"These kids want to win, and they want to win for each other," Bailey said. "They want to turn Lampasas back into what it was before. Lampasas was a tough football school, and they want to get back to that."