For Jefferson County, every game will be meaningful this season.

Coach J.B. Arnold said this is the first year in his memory that any school in the county has had a full schedule of 10 region games.

"And this is one tough schedule," Arnold said. "It's very likely that you could have some teams end the season with 8-2 records and not make it into the playoffs. And if there's a tie, it will all come down to a coin flip."

Of the 11 schools in Region 3-AA, which was realigned for this season, eight made the playoffs last year.

Still, Arnold said he would rather play the season as it is than have it poorly divided into subregions with a majority of powerhouses on one side.

This season, the Warriors open with Laney and go on to face Dodge County, Toombs County, Bleckley County, Vidalia, Swainsboro, East Laurens, Southeast Bulloch, Screven County and Dublin.

"We're going to have to be committed to working hard all season," Arnold said. "Just one bad slip and ..."

Arnold said one of his biggest challenges is going to be overcoming the team's inexperience.

"We graduated a lot of talent, a lot of quality football players," he said. "The seniors we have this year are not as talented as a group as the seniors who left. That's not to say we don't have talent, but in this schedule, our guys are going to have to work harder to achieve the same goals."

The Warriors have just two seniors starting on offense and five on defense.

"We're trying to put together a program that doesn't depend on seniors or one or two great players," Arnold said. "We've been lucky to have some Division I talent the last few years, but no season should hang on a couple of players.

"To build a program like this, we need a community that supports our kids no matter what and parents who take this seriously and make sure their kids go to practice."

The coaches spent the summer doing all they could to get the players competitive experience.

"We worked out in the weight room, took part in three national passing league tournaments, and our linemen attended a couple of camps," Arnold said. "We're doing what we can. Our goal every year is to make a run into the playoffs."

Of the experienced players, senior defensive end Chris Crenshaw already has verbally committed to Georgia Tech.

Since then, the 6-foot-3 player has put on 25 pounds of muscle. Now, he's up to 240 pounds.

"He isn't scared of anybody, and he knows how to use what the good Lord blessed him with," Arnold said.

Crenshaw has an 82-inch span from fingertip to fingertip.

"That's 6 feet, 10 inches," Arnold said. "That's just crazy. And as a pass rusher, it makes a real difference. He has worked extremely hard to get where he is. He deserves all he gets."

Arnold said he also expects a lot from running back A.J. Nelson.

"He's strong and can really break tackles," Arnold said.

On defense, Arnold expects Gary Lewis to be a leader.

""He's just a great kid," he said. "Antuan McGruder's work ethic has been helpful all summer. P.J. Hall had a great summer, and I'm going to be looking to William Young's experience to anchor the (offensive) line. Dexter Walker is another one we're going to be looking to. If our guys get aggressive, they are going to be able to be just as good as they want to be."