After hitting each other for the first few weeks of practice, the Los Banos football teams got the chance to hit someone else Aug. 21 after traveling to Oakdale.</p><p>"We've been seeing each other for two weeks, and we couldn't really tell where we're at, because it's against the same guys, the same defense," said Los Banos head coach Dennis Stubbs. "Our guys got fired up, and our O-line played really well for this early. That was a big concern going in."</p><p>Oakdale scored on its first possession, mounting a long drive, but the coaches were far from discouraged.</p><p>"It went real well for us. We're very pleased," Stubbs said. "Oakdale is one of the most successful teams around. They have a strong program. We were without three starters we held out due to injuries, so we weren't sure what we were going to see. We responded well.</p><p>"Two were banged up and we just wanted to rest them, and Eric Gonzalez is out for a few weeks."</p><p>The Tigers needed to get hit in the jaw a few times, since the team's first test is right off the bat, tonight, when defending Division II champion Rocklin High comes to town.</p><p>"It's going to be a great test," Stubbs said. "Our past success has allowed us to bring in quality opponents like this. This is the elite of the section."</p><p>Rocklin boasts a quarterback who has verbally committed to Boise State in Jimmy Laughrea, a Rivals.com three-star recruit. The web site rated him the 15th-best quarterback in the nation. Stubbs said Laughrea is the key to Los Banos' defensive gameplan, though not in the way many would think.</p><p>"We feel we're pretty athletic on defense, but we've got to be able to stop the run," Stubbs said. "I know that sounds funny, when their quarterback is a thrower, but he has to throw the ball on every down for us to be successful on defense."</p><p>Offensively, Stubbs stressed the need to sustain drives.</p><p>"They're going to do what they do," he said. "Both teams are going to make mistakes. It's just who makes fewer and capitalizes."</p><p>While Los Banos was on the road testing its mettle against Oakdale, the brand new Pacheco High football team was testing their strength against themselves with a sophomores-versus-freshmen scrimmage.</p><p>"It was a good learning experience, especially for the sophomores," said junior varsity coach John Wenig. "Every time there's a frosh/soph scrimmage, the freshmen tend to elevate level of play."</p><p>That was the case in this situation, but Wenig saw some things he could build upon.</p><p>"The main things we need to improve on is intensity," Wenig said. "They kind of slept on the freshmen a little bit, and the freshmen came out fired up. But the sophomores buckled down and we scored a few touchdowns on them."</p><p>Coaching against members of the same coaching staff was a different experience for Wenig.</p><p>"It wasn't like I was looking to slam them or anything, but it was interesting to see what they were running," he said. "They run a different offense and a different defense, and we had to make adjustments."</p><p>The Panthers will start the season Saturday by traveling to American Canyon High, also in its first year of existence with freshman and sophomore classes.</p><p>"I talked to the coach there (Ian McMillan), and they're experiencing the same stuff we are here, with new kids, new offense and defense, facilities that aren't quite ready yet," Wenig said. "It was interesting talking to him."</p><p>The coaches weren't able to trade game film, since there is none yet, but they traded scouting reports over the phone.</p><p>"We know what offense they run, and what defense," Wenig said. "As far as talent level, we don't know what to expect."</p><p>Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com