BREMEN - Friday night lights are back! It's Week #1 of the high school football regular season and IFCA #10 LaVille travels to rival Bremen.  The Lancers finished 2022 with a 10-1 record and lost 28-6 in the sectional semifinal to state runner-up Andrean.  The Lions closed out with a 7-5 mark and lost to Andrean in the sectional championship.The Associated Press was not able to release its pre-season poll due to voting technical issues.  The AP is set to release its first high school football poll early next week. Both teams started the season with scrimmages on August 11.  Bremen traveled to Goshen, while LaVille played host to Prairie Heights.Scrimmages allow the coaching staff to look at their defense and offense.  Theymay select a kicking game or non kicking game."We thought the scrimmage went well," said first-year LaVille head coach Jeff Kaiser.  "We kept it simple which allowed us to see what guys could do with the basics and we felt they executed pretty well.    Being able to mix up our run game with the passing game is a big plus as we move forward offensively.  Defensively I felt overall we had good team pursuit and guys are finding a way to get to the football and make plays." After watching the film, Kaiser and his staff felt like there were a couple of strengths on offense and defense."Strength Offensively is that we can mix it up with several guys to create mismatches for our opponents," noted Kaiser. "Strength Defensively is we have guys that are physical and work well together as a unit." LaVille and Bremen officially started the series on October 14, 1966.  The Lions hosted the match-up, winning 42-12.  BHS leads the all-time series 39-14, but LaVille has won the last six straight meetings.  The last Bremen victory - 38-7 on September 27, 2013 - was also played at Don J. Bunge Field.We asked coach Kaiser about this series."What makes this series special is that these schools are very close in location, parents and the players know one another," says the Lancer coach.  "It's small school football that is going to be a physical, smashmouth game that is going to be a 48 minute dogfight." WHME TV-46 will also start its 2023 broadcast schedule with the LaVille-Bremen match-up.  The game can be watched Friday night at 11 p.m. and again on Saturday at 9 a.m. Jordan Leeper returns for his eight season at the helm of the Bremen football program. Among the top returning players for BHS are junior quarterback Silas Laidig, junior Tyrus Graverson, and senior wide receiver/ defensive back Reece Greene.  Laidig threw for 624 yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions before an injury sidelined the 6'1" 185 pound signal-caller.  The Laidig-Gaverson combo should be exciting  to watch this season."Bremen's offense poses many concerns for us defensively," explained Kaiser. "They have a QB in Laidig that is now a Junior with a very strong and accurate arm in which he has multiple receivers that he will not be afraid to throw deep to (Reece) Greene and Graverson.  Then to top it off they have a speedy back in (Austin) Young.  We must play disciplined in our coverages and defend the edge to slow them down." And, according to Kaiser the Bremen defense seems to be quick overall to go along with being aggressive and physical.  We must sustain blocks, be able to mix it up with run and pass to keep them guessing to slow them down.  On the Lancer side of the field, several experienced players return for the offensive unit.  At the top of the list is Lucas Plummer, a 6'3" 190-pound veteran who can throw the ball and run when necessary.  Also back on offense are explosive running back Cody Allen, powerful full back Jonathan Neese, talented tight end Michael Good and all-state lineman Erik Bedock. "The biggest key for us is to play confident, be physical, and limit our mistakes," said Kaiser.  "We also need to play 48 minutes of LaVille Football." "We hope to see Lancer Nation out in full force as we open the season at Bremen. Go Blue!" On the defensive side of the ball, several key players are also back, including Allen, Bedock, Good, Neese, and Xzavian LaFave. The game can also be heard live on www.max983.net , click sports, click Tony Ross and Crew live for streaming.Game on . . . G A M E D A Y Teams: LaVille (0-0) at Bremen (0-0) Site: Don J. Bunge Field, Bremen Game Time: 7 pm ET Coaches: Jeff Kaiser (0-0 in 1st year at LaVille). Jordan Leeper (49-33 in 8th year at Bremen). All-Time Series: Bremen leads LaVille, 39-14 Last Meeting: LaVille def. Bremen, 42-0, Aug. 19, 2022. Broadcast/Streaming: WHME TV-46 (game heard live on IHSAA Champions Network - click https://www.ihsaatv.org/?B=604563 - stream at 6:45 p.m.) MAX 98.3FM (click https://network1sports.com/station/max983)