Washington moved its season opener up a night from Friday to Thursday due to the Oklahoma Sooners playing on Friday night.

The Warriors will make the short trip to CCS Thursday night for a 7 p.m. kick off to open the 2024 gridiron season.

Washington’s scrimmage last week at Tuttle uncovered a lot.

That’s the word from head coach Brad Beller.

“We found out a lot,” Beller confirmed. “We found out we may have more offensive playmakers than what we thought.

“We were very balanced on both sides of the ball team-wise,” the coach continued. “I think both teams came away with a lot to work on but feel confident we can move on and grow from here.”

Beller said his offensive line worked well as a unit.

“They gave our quarterback time to throw,” Beller said. “They executed well against a good Tuttle defense.”

Beller noted the top-shelf play of all four of his linebackers.

“I was very proud of our two sophomore outside linebackers in Riley Gay and Case Alexander,” the coach said. “They played well as did junior inside linebackers Blake Heiliger and Kale Brakefield.

“Blake and Kale did a really good job from top to bottom. They had a very good scrimmage,” Beller said.

Beller noted the Royals return quite a bit from last year’s offensive and defensive lines.

“They are more physical than they have been the last couple of years on the front line,” Beller said. “They lean heavily on being balanced. They are highly effective in running the football. Their passing game comes from their run game. It all starts with the run.”

When CCS is on defense they will operate out of a 4-2/4-4.

“They are very aggressive and run to the football well,” he said. “They are very disciplined on that side of the ball.”

The key for the Warriors will be overcoming the first game jitters and not turning the ball over when they are on offense.

“And, we have to be solid on defense on third down,” Beller concluded.