The Douglas Bulldogs kick off the 2010 football season this Friday night taking on their mining town rivals the Bisbee Pumas in what will be the 140th meeting between the two schools.

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The rivalry is one of the oldest in the country.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Douglas High School. At stake is the coveted Copper Pick which goes to the winner of the Bisbee/Douglas game.

Douglas leads the overall series which began in 1906 and is coming off a 49-12 win last season. Bisbee last beat Douglas in 2006 coming away with a 20-19 win.

The Bulldogs are looking to break in their new field with a win but at the same time very cautious knowing Bisbee is playing this game in memory of their former coach Truman Williamson who died several months ago suffering a heart attack on his way to spring practice.

“We know Bisbee is coming in sky high,” Douglas’ defensive coordinator Ron Ellsworth said. “They’re dedicating their season to Coach Williamson; they already have the stickers on their helmets. They’re going to play for him this year.”

Ellsworth said for Douglas to win the Bulldogs must first be mentally ready.

“We’ve got to play mistake free ball,” the coach added. “No turnovers, no penalties. We need to play good sound fundamental football.”

Bisbee scrimmaged Willcox Friday in Willcox. The Douglas coaches called off practice that day and went and scouted Bisbee knowing the Pumas coaches were going to keep things pretty basic.

“They do have good size on the line,” Ellsworth said. “That was one of their strengths coming in. They’re center is a big guy and he has quick feet. �- He looked good playing center and nose guard.”

Ellsworth said Bisbee also has a running back that is pretty quick.

“I know they’re breaking in a new quarterback,” the coach said. “The kid that played last year hurt his knee in baseball.”

Douglas’ head coach Dick Keith is undefeated against Bisbee having won both as a player and as a coach.

“They’re going to be ready for us,” Keith said. “We need to make sure we’re ready for them.”

The Bulldogs scrimmaged Buena and Pueblo last week in Tucson.

“We say a lot of things that we were pleased with and we saw some things we need to work on,” Keith said.

The coach said his team had some decent runs and showed it does have speed. But his linemen had some breakdowns.

“There were several times they wanted to chase a defender rather than protect an inside gap,” the coach said.

Against Buena the coach said each team scored once. Against Pueblo the Warriors scored once while Douglas was kept out of the end zone.

“I thought we matched up very well against both teams” Coach Keith said. “We weren’t dominated by anyone.”

The coach said mental mistakes hurt his team several times as some of the linemen jumped.

“Our line is untested but overall I was pleased by what I saw,” he said.

Defensively Ellsworth said his team did fairly well overall.

“We had good coverage,” he said. “I liked our aggressiveness in going after the ball.”

The coach said his defense did miss some calls and didn’t cover at times the way he would have liked.

“That what a scrimmage is for,” he said. “We saw some things we need to work on before Bisbee comes to town.”

Much like Bisbee did to Douglas the Bulldogs showed only one of several different offensive formations.

“This new offense is designed to go full tilt on every down,” Keith said. “Sometimes our backs have a mental lapse and don’t give us 100 percent at times.”

The coach said he’s hoping to rotate the backs as often as he can to keep them as fresh as possible.

Leading the Bulldog offense this Friday night will be senior AJ Acosta. Acosta saw limited action at quarterback last fall and did play in the Bisbee game.

“He’s worked hard during the offseason to get himself ready,” Keith said.

Joining him will be junior Jason Sanez who will rotate with sophomore Grant Watkins.

On the wings will be seniors Diego Chavez and Hunter Long. The wide out will be sophomore Mark Romero and senior Abner Cortez will see action at split end.

On the front line there are five seniors led b Joseph Sandoval (6’1”, 180) who will start at center. Burt Garcia (5’10”, 305) and Artie Torres (5’11”, 270) will start at guards and Zack Jensen (5’11”, 190) and Reyes Valenzuela (5’10, 265) will see action at the tackles.

“Joseph played against that big guy from Bisbee last year and he handled him pretty well last year,” the coach said. “The kid really didn’t dominate him. He is by far our most experienced linemen and he snaps the ball well.”

The coach said there are three different formations to this offense and at times there can be two or three backs in the backfield.

Coach Ellsworth said while the offense may be new the defense is the same one he ran last year.

Long will anchor the defense at linebacker. Joining him will be Chavez. Acosta will play free safety, strong safety or corner, Ellsworth said depending on what the formation calls for at that particular time.

Martin Lopez will play corner; Sanez and Cortez will see action at safety and Watkins and Felipe Linares will share duty at the other free safety spot.

“He has very good range,” Ellsworth said of Cortez. “He can go sideline to sideline and make plays. He’s a natural at that position “

Pre-game tickets on sale

Pre-game tickets for the Douglas vs. Bisbee are currently on sale.

Tickets can be purchased from 7-12 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. at the DHS Athletic Office located at 1800 Estrella Ave.

Adult tickets will be $4; students/kids are $3.