“That Thursday morning is going to tell a lot about us and where we are,” he says.

The Vikings enter 2011 after a 3-8 season, and while they lost key players such as Andrew Yost and Latham York, some return as well, including senior playmaker Terrence Clyburn, one of the topoffensive weapons around.

“He’s an exceptional talent for us,” says Bradley.

Senior Kelly Hall, who scored the winning touchdown against Hough last year, steps in at quarterback after sharing time with now-graduated Mike Irvin last season.

“We’re going to throw him to the fire right away,” says Bradley. “I think it helped that Kelly got some snaps last year. We put Kelly in situations where he could be successful.”

Aside from Hall’s play, Bradley says the performance of both lines will be critical as the season opens at home against Olympic.

“We have a great group of kids,” he says. “I enjoy the staff we have. We’re looking forward to the season.”