PRIEST RIVER — The season opener is still two days away, but the Spartan football team has already faced its fair share of adversity.

Roughly two weeks ago, a player within the program tested positive for COVID-19, forcing about half of the team into quarantine.

Thankfully, those players returned to practice on Monday and will have a full week of prep under their belt prior to Friday's season opener against Medical Lake.

Head coach Jared Hughes said not being able to work with half of the team for a significant period of time may impact how the Spartans look early in their opener, but he believes his starters on both sides of the ball can go toe-to-toe with anyone on their schedule this fall.

"You put our first 11 out there on the field plus a couple guys and we look pretty good," he said. "We got some good athletes and some tough kids and they've been working hard in the weight room."

Priest River's biggest weakness this season will be depth. The team has about 25 players on the roster and more than half are underclassmen, Hughes said.

"We're still really young," he said.

Last season, the Spartans finished winless for the second straight year. Due to COVID-19, Priest River was unable to play any Washington schools and had to face Intermountain League foes Kellogg and Bonners Ferry twice.

This year, the Spartans' first four games are against Washington schools. Hughes said he hopes their current schedule will allow them to be more competitive and help them build some confidence for their three league games at the end of the season.

Priest River lost six seniors from last year's team, including first-team all-league running back Coby Rogers and first-team defensive lineman Kent Anderson. Jordan Nortz, first-team returner and second-team wide receiver, also transferred.

But the Spartans have plenty of talent coming back, led by 2020 team Defensive MVP Kameron Salesky and junior Matyus McLain.

Hughes has a pair of former head football coaches on his staff this fall — current Priest River girls basketball coach Gary Stewart and Brad Martin. Stewart is taking over offensive coordinator duties and implementing a flexbone style offense.

The three-back system will feature Salesky, McLain, Jesse Poisel, Conor Berns and others in the backfield.

McLain, who earned second-team all-league honors at tight end last year, is 6-foot-3 and arguably the Spartans' best athlete.

"He's got a lot of potential," Hughes said. "I'm really going to work on getting him recruited somewhere."

On the offensive line, Priest River has three returners that started as freshmen in 2020 — Hayden Strange, Landon Reynolds and Jonny Price. Seniors Brady O'Brien and Luke Slater are set to be the other starters on the line.

At quarterback, senior Michael Johnson, who played wide receiver and linebacker last year, rose to the top during the first few weeks of practice this fall. Salesky, the fullback, could also see some time at the position in the wildcat. Last year's starting quarterback, Everett Hannah, is now on the soccer team.

On defense, Hughes is looking forward to seeing what junior linebacker Deegan Goins can do this season.

"He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's got a nose for the football and he's just a tough kid," he said.

Just like years past, the Spartans will be a ground-first attack and mix in short passes to keep the defense honest.

Over the offseason, the team was able to get in some scrimmages against other schools for the first time in two years. Hughes hopes those extra reps pay off this fall.

"It was nice to get them out and hit some people over the summer," he said.

Kickoff for Friday's opener is set for 7 p.m. at PRLHS. The Spartans are eager to get the season underway.

"They're really excited," Hughes said, "especially the seniors because they know it's their last year and they've been hitting it pretty hard at practice."