The Jacks are facing an entire new cast of opponents this season as Quincy High School has dropped down a classification and will compete at the 1A level.

The team finished 5-5 in their last season in the 2A Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC), and are now a member of the Caribou Trail League (CTL).

After finishing in the middle of the pack and losing 13 kids to graduation, one might think 2012 would be a rebuilding year for the Quincy program.

But Stephen Wallace, now in his fourth year as head coach of the Jacks, is confident his team has what it takes to contend for the league title this season.

"The CTL is one of the toughest leagues in the 1A classification with two or three teams regularly ranked in the top 10," Wallace said. "Every week will bring an unknown opponent and another challenge. However, we have a solid group of veterans returning and a lot of confidence in what we are capable of doing as a team and believe we will be competing for the league title this year."

That confidence, Wallace said, is not based on the fact the Jacks are moving down a classification.

"It's not because we are the big school moving down ... the top teams in the CTL often beat ranked 2A opponents," he said. "But because of the team we have built over the past three years. We feel we would be competing for the CWAC league title this year if we had remained in the league."

Wallace expects the Cashmere Bulldogs and Chelan Goats, two of the top teams in the CT and the state as well the past couple of years, to be the biggest hurdles to get over for the Jacks to live up to his expectations.

Cashmere (5-0, 11-1) lost to Connell 20-9 in the state quarterfinals last year. Chelan (4-1, 9-4) beat Royal 27-24 in the quarterfinals, but lost to Connell 42-14 in the semifinal game.

The strength of the Jacks team this year, Wallace said, is its stout 3-4 defense

"Over the past three years we have worked hard to develop a defense that represents our team's philosophy on how to play the game," he said. "We have a lot of players who are veterans on our team who have helped us create our team's defensive identity. We spent the beginning of last year getting familiar with new personnel and a new defense, but now those returning players will be able to play with absolute confidence."

Quincy will need to be solid on defense because a team like the Bulldogs (45 ppg.) or Goats (41) can score points in bunches.

The Jacks will also need to be able to find a way to put points on the board because Cashmere (14 ppg.) and Chelan (18) don't give up many either.

Leading the offensive attack for Quincy is senior quarterback Jacob Durfee who threw for 441 yards and four TDs in 2011. He also ran for 888 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns.

None of which would have been accomplished without the solid line play of Armando Tafoya, Jose Solorio, Raul Garcia, Zac Gates and Jose Guardado-Chavez, whom Wallace said he'll rely on again this season.

Returning running back Antonio Melendez and Darren Hodges, who combined for 907 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, will be counted on to make a major contribution for the Jacks ground game.

But questions remain at the wide receiver position however, as only one starter from last season, Domingo Villarreal who saw limited action (44 receiving yards and 2 TDs), returns to the lineup.

Quincy opened its season with a 22-21 last-minute loss at home against familiar foe Ephrata in a nonleague contest Aug. 31.

The Jacks will open their regular season Friday against the Knights in Royal City. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.