The Lake Highlands football team got off to a slow start in their 27-9 season opener loss to Mesquite High School last week. If they want to claim their first victory of the 2012 season this week, they'll need to sprinting out of the gate, as the Wildcats are playing host to powerhouse Plano West.

In the past few years, Lake Highlands has been a run-heavy team. It allows them to control the time of possession and the flow of the game. Last week, quarterback Trent Jones was the team's leading rusher with 56 yards on 12 carries. If the Wildcats want to beat Plano West, they'll need running Elbert Landry to step up and carry more of the workload.

The Lake HIghlands' passing game is secondary to its running game and Jones has that part covered well. He completed six of 13 passes for 92 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. His only real focus, aside from not turning the ball over and avoiding sacks, is to complete a larger percent of his passes.

On defense, the Wildcats will really need to be on their toes. They were shredded last week by Mesquite quarterback Alex Cooper, who threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns and completed 20 of his 22 passing attempts. Plano West quarterback Travis Korry isn't quite as big of a threat, but the Wolves live up to their names with a ferocious running game, which is led by running back Sotonya Jamabo. He rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown last week on just seven carries.

Lake Highlands and Plano West will play at Wildcat-Ram Stadium on Friday, September 7 with kick off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.