It was just a couple of years ago that the Victory Christian Lions were struggling to put marks in the win column.

Fans wouldn’t know that many of those kids who were playing then are the same ones leading the team in 2009. The kids that are confident in their chances of winning each time they step on the field. And that includes their game on Friday night when the Lions travel to Ragland for the region opener.

“I’m really trying to hold them down,” Victory Christian head coach Scotty Smith said Wednesday. “They’re confident. I try to keep them toned down a little bit.”

The thing that may strike many as funny is this team is confident they can beat an opponent they’ve never beaten before. The Lions are 0-7 against Ragland in varsity football. The Purple Devils have shut out Victory Christian five times. And yet the Lions are feeling good about their chances on Friday.

“We’ve got those eight kids that have been starting three years for us,” Smith said. “Maybe finally we’ll break through (against Ragland).”

Victory Christian (1-0) enters the game with a lot of momentum after defeating Collinsville in the season opener last week. The Lions had success with the run and the pass against Collinsville. They’ll try to do the same against Ragland on Friday.

The Purple Devils (0-1) enter Friday’s region contest with history on their side. Ragland head coach Brian Mintz said his team learned a lot against Westbrook Christian in the season opener last week and they hope to use what they learned in the region opener against Victory.

Mintz said the Purple Devils would have to successfully contain VC quarterback Michael Kirby in order to pick up a win on Friday.

“We expect to see them throw the ball and throw it a lot,” Mintz said Wednesday. “Michael Kirby, he’s a very accurate passer, a good quarterback. He manages the game well.”

Mintz would also like to see the Purple Devils have more success on offense this week. Ragland only had 35 yards of total offense against Westbrook Christian last week.

“Our rushing offense was poor last week,” Mintz said. “We need to be able to run the football.”

While the Lions are well known for their pass-happy offense, Smith said his team would run the ball as well.

“Everybody thinks we throw it all the time,” Smith said. “(Against Collinsville) we threw it 33 times and we ran it 29. Whereas most teams run to set up the pass, we pass to set up the run. We’re not going to just air it out. We plan on doing both. We’re going to run and pass.”

Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 p.m. from Ragland.