The Pleasant Home Eagles hope to set the tone for the season as they prepare for Friday night’s season opener against Elberta in Pleasant Home.

“Elberta is a team out of Baldwin County,” Pleasant Home head coach Rick Mercer said. “Originally, we were supposed to play there, but they had a problem with their field so we moved the game here.”

Pleasant Home wasn’t expecting to play at home until after Labor Day, and Mercer said the community came together to help get the field ready for the game.

“We weren’t expecting to play at home this soon,” Mercer said. “Our parents, principal and superintendent came through to help us get our field ready for this week.”

Elberta is a new school that will eventually be a Class 4A team when they join the AHSAA in two years.

“We are trying to prepare for anything,” Mercer said. “They have two new coordinators since spring, so we aren’t sure what they are going to do. On offense, we will prepare for a three or four man front and adjust according to what they do. On defense, we are going to line up like normal and makes checks based on how they line up.”

Mercer said the Eagles had a good day of practice on Wednesday.

“Today was a good practice,” Mercer said. “It was a little cooler today, it didn’t rain and we are a little closer to Friday. We have to be able to make our checks and adjustments at the line. Lining up where we are supposed to be is going to be key. We just have to focus on not making mistakes and turnovers. If we do what we are supposed to do, we will be alright.”

Kickoff between the Pleasant Home and Elberta is scheduled for 7 p.m.