Clarence’s Michael Gelz breaks free to score during Saturday’s multischool football scrimmage at the high school. The Red Devils will open their season against Iroquois Friday with their first-ever home game under the lights. Photo by Patrick McPartland Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com It has been two years in the making — officially, at least — but when Clarence’s football team takes to the field this weekend to open its 2010 season, the Red Devils will be leaving behind the dwindling ranks of schools without lighted fields.

That’s because two-time defending Class AA Bowl Series Champion Clarence will be firing up its newly-installed lights Friday when it hosts Iroquois — another school that joined the fraternity of enlightened high school football programs a mere two seasons ago — for the Red Devils’ first-ever night home game at 7:30.

“I hope the community decides that this is going to be a happening thing in town and that they then bring some excitement to the crowd,” coach Tom Goddard said. “We ’ve been fighting for the last 20-some years to get a lighted field. When you think high school football, you think Friday nights. When you can get the community together on a Friday night and bring the family out with something to do, it’s a great thing for that community. I think this first game is going to be quite an ordeal — the big thing for us now is containing our excitement until kickoff.”

Of course, just having a lighted field isn’t going to draw a crowd on a Friday night — the team on the field has to be good too. Fortunately for the Red Devils, putting a quality product on the field shouldn’t be an issue, given Clarence’s success over the last two seasons.

Leading the way for Clarence’s revamped offense will be senior co-captain Zach Lauricella, who set passing records for single-game (239) and season yardage (1,428), as well as season completions (96), while earning Second Team Class AA South All-star status. Joining Lauricella among the returning players looking to make one final big splash this season is wide receiver Billy Fitzhenry, one of Lauricella’s favorite targets in 2009 and a fellow Second Team Class AA South All-star. Fitzhenry’s penchant for catching Lauricella’s eye — and subsequent passes — led to him posting school single-season receiving records (38 receptions for 418 yards) as a junior.

Seniors Cooper Wittig (wide receiver/ running back/defensive back), Domenic Principale (offensive lineman/linebacker), James Phillips (wide receiver/ tight end/outside linebacker), Jake Matteson (offensive/defensive lineman) and Sean Wolf (fullback/ defensive tackle) will serve as the team’s other co-captains this season. Phillips was also a Second Team Class AA South All-star last season.

Other seniors who should have an impact this season — and with 25 of them on the 53-player roster, it’s no surprise — include Nick Riniolo (offensive/defensive lineman), Matt Eberle (fullback/ linebacker), Mackenzie Ward (wide receiver/defensive back) and Cameron Dimitroff (running back/defensive back). Returning junior running back Mike Gelz should also play a significant role in the Red Devils’ success.

Newcomers looking to step in and contribute at the varsity level include juniors Mike Arcury (offensive/ defensive lineman) and Nicholay Mohan (wide receiver/defensive back), as well as sophomores Nate Ward (offensive/defensive lineman) and Anthony Principale (offensive/defensive lineman).

“Those four younger guys are filling in sports that we needed after the kids who played them graduated,” Goddard said. “We had 11 different starters on each side of the ball during the scrimmage, so I think the opportunity is there for plenty of kids to get some playing time this year.”

That scrimmage Saturday, which saw Clarence host Kenmore West, Williamsville North, Starpoint and Lake Shore, gave Goddard a pretty good idea of what he can expect from his players on both sides of the ball. It also gave the Red Devils’ offense specifically a time to implement their no-huddle offense against someone other than their scout team.

“The scrimmage went pretty well; defensively we were pretty stout, and offensively we did pretty well too,” Goddard said. “We need some work, as expected, but we have the confidence now that we know what we’ve been doing so far is working. The kids are really loving the no-huddle offense and they’re excited about running it. Of course, the big thing they’re looking forward to is that first night game, and I’m hoping that we can save some of our adrenaline for the game.”

With the success Clarence has had in the consolation playoffs the last two years, Goddard is hoping to take the next step and return to the Federation playoffs. And while it is a non-league game, nothing would set the tone for the Red Devils’ hopeful ascension to the top of the league standings than a victory at home over a perennial powerhouse like Iroquois.

“Iroquois is a very well-coached team with a great tradition, so we know we’ve got to step up to the plate if we want to show them what we can do,” Goddard said. “We played and beat them a couple of years ago, but they certainly know how to win. We’ve just got to come out and do the things we do to win, like complete our passes and play good defense.”

“We ’re throwing the ball about 65 to 70 percent of the time now — our no-huddle is geared towards throwing the ball because Zach isn’t the kind of spread quarterback who’s going to run half of the time – but we can certainly change that if we need to,” Goddard added. “Our goal is to be atop the division, and to do that, we’ve got to get better every game. We’d definitely like to make the Federation playoffs, because if we do that, I think we can make our own destiny.”

e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com