Tim Sohyda has been doing his best to downplay what will be his first game as Canon-McMillan's head coach Friday night.

"It's my first game as head coach, but not my first game there," he said.

Sohyda, a Canon-McMillan graduate, takes over for the well-respected veteran Guy Montecalvo, who retired at the end of last season. Sohyda was an assistant at the school from 1999-2005, and was most recently an assistant at Ringgold (2006) and West Mifflin (2007-2009).

Sohyda's debut, of sorts, coincides with Canon-McMillan playing host to rival Trinity to open the season. The schools might no longer be in the same conference -- or same classification, for that matter -- but the magnitude of the rivalry between the two is not lost on those involved, particularly someone such as Sohyda, who has been a part of it as a player, assistant coach and now head coach.

"It's Steelers-Browns or Penguins-Flyers," Sohyda said. "For people who live in those communities, it doesn't get much better than that. That football game carries into wrestling season and into basketball season and into everything else. It's just one of those things, an annual event."

It's an event that in recent years has been owned by Class AAAA Canon-McMillan, which defeated Class AAA Trinity each of the past three seasons, including 36-22 last year. Mike Hull, who gave the Hillers fits throughout his outstanding career, scored four touchdowns in that game.

Canon-McMillan's two big stars are gone -- Hull (Penn State) and Chad Hagan (Ohio State) -- but the Big Macs do have plenty of returning firepower at their disposal to throw against Trinity once again. Among them are 5-foot-8 senior wide receiver Alec Schram and 6-1 senior running back Alex Adams.

Last season, Schram was the Big Macs' leading receiver with 31 catches for 362 yards and five touchdowns. Adams ran for 307 yards. Add in senior running back Matt Duffey, a 5-11 speedster who didn't play much last season because of the presence of Hull and Hagan, and 6-2 senior wide receiver Shane Chandler, and the Big Macs should be able to move the ball against most teams.

"I would say we have four serious weapons and a couple of guys who are going to do a lot of things for us. We're going to use them all," said Sohyda, adding that 5-9 senior Luke Martin could be a big-time threat in the return game.

Luckily for Trinity, the Hillers return eight starters on defense, a unit that coach Ed Dalton said will have to carry the team early.

The group is led by a pair of returning all-conference players, 6-1 senior linebacker Kyle McWreath and 6-1 senior strong safety Ty Billie. Also back are four of the team's top five defensive linemen from a season ago, senior Bobby Steinstraw (6-3, 215 pounds), senior Jon Crawford (5-11, 185), senior Jordan Secreti (5-10, 185) and sophomore defensive tackle Xavier Severns (6-2, 255), already a team captain whom Dalton foresees as the team's next big-time recruit.

Trinity struggled to score points at times last season -- the Hillers were held to 12 or fewer five times -- so facing a Big Macs 4-4 defense that returns seven starters, combined with the fact the Hillers have many new faces on that side of the ball, sets them up for a stern test.

Among the expected contributors are 5-9 senior quarterback Brad Martin and junior running back Tyler Yocca.

"They don't look as big up front, but it's awfully hard for me to tell on film," said Sohyda. "What I do know is that Ed Dalton is a really good coach, and not much has changed in the way he does things."

And while Sohyda might claim that not much has changed with the way he does things, his first game as Canon-McMillan's head coach will likely have him feeling a little differently when the ball kicks off.

"It's a big challenge," he said. "I'm trying to keep perspective the whole time. It's just a football game."

Canon-Mac faces

Trinity in opener

• Who: Trinity at Canon-McMillan.

• When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

• Where: Big Macs Stadium, Canonsburg.

• The skinny: This non-conference game is for bragging rights in Washington County.

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