HIGHLAND -- It all revolves around the running game for the Highland Bulldogs.
"To have a successful year, our experienced skill players, which are primarily running backs, have to do a good job,'' Highland coach Ron Holt said. "We have to be able to run the football. That's our recipe down here. We are a power football team, and we have to control the clock and control the tempo of the game.''
The Bulldogs, who open the 2009 season at 7 p.m. Friday against Belleville West at Highland High School, bring back running backs Dale Korte and Michael Buehne and fullback Justin Huelsmann from a team that rushed for 2,685 yards last season.
Korte rushed for 372 yards and four touchdowns last season, while Buehne rushed for 393 yards and one touchdown.
"Korte and Buehne are both elusive runners,'' Holt said. "They're quick and they're good cutters. They're not overpowering runners, but they're hard to hit. Huelsmann won't make you miss. He just runs over you, and we have another kid, Ron Heady, who is going to play fullback for us and is the same way. They're both power runners.''
The Bulldogs also have Jordan Holtgrave, though he'll miss the first game of the season.
"We have like five running backs that we are going to mix in there this year,'' Holt said. "Each kid has his own attributes, and certain kids are better at certain plays. That's what we did last year as well.''
The Bulldogs try to spice up their running game by using several different formations.
Holt said the Bulldogs run some spread offense, the "Dotted I,'' which is I formation with an extra tailback, and a "King and Queen,'' which is an offset I formation.
"We have three different formations, and we give teams three different looks,'' Holt said. "Each one we have different kids who that's their offense. So by the end of the game, there's usually four or five guys who show up in the stat book as having significant yards.''
The Bulldogs are coming off a 7-4 season. They lost their first two games to Belleville West and Marion, but then rebounded to win seven of their next eight games.
"You have to kind of restart that engine if you end up 0-2, and last year our seniors did a great job of that,'' Holt said.
With the same two teams kicking off their schedule again this year, Holt said getting off to a fast start won't be easy.
"I tell our kids, 'We're going to go out there and play our tails off, and if we come out of that 2-0, we are a dynamite team. If we're 1-1, we're a very good team. We could be 0-2 and still be a darn good team,''' Holt said.
The Bulldogs lost quarterback Travis Becherer to graduation. Becherer had a team-high 758 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with 1,108 passing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Senior Kevin Keeven will replace Becherer.
"He's run our J.V. the last two years, and he's done a pretty good job,'' Holt said. "We feel that though it's his first year as a starter, he's not totally inexperienced.''
Wide receiver Dylan Kurz, who caught 19 passes for 435 yards and five touchdowns last season, has a broken foot.
Holt said it could be midseason at best before Kurz is healthy.
That leaves James Range, who caught five passes for 48 yards last season, as the top receiver.
"He's about 6-4, -- he's a big, tall, rangy kid. He fits his name,'' Holt said.
The Bulldogs have only one starter -- 265-pound left guard Jacob Minney -- returning on the offensive line.
Holt said senior left tackle Jake Broadhurst saw some playing time last season, but that's the extent of his experienced players on the offensive line.
Huelsmann is a three-year starter at linebacker, while Buehne and Korte lend experience to the secondary.
Holt said the Mississippi Valley Conference race is wide open this season.
"It could be anybody,'' Holt said. "I don't think there is a dominant team in the MVC on paper right now.''
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