Damien Rodriguez and Zac Linnemeier make a stop against Marian during the scrimmage last Friday. The Warriors open at home versus Lakeland this Friday. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE — Wawasee football’s opponents are going to get a whole new look this season.

The Warriors have a brand-spanking new turf field and a new head coach in 2017. With new coaches come new ways of doing things, and Wawasee is certainly no exception to that rule. But not only will the Warriors show some new looks to opponents this season, they’ll likely give them something different to worry about from snap to snap with multiple formations on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

“We try not to be in the same formation on two consecutive plays,” explained first-year head coach Mike Eshbach. “We might, but ultimately at this point we’re trying to mix that up. What that gives you is it allows us to dictate where guys are going to be, so it’s an easier type of thing as far as a preparation standpoint goes.”

Eshbach and his staff will be splitting quarterback duties between two different players this year. The Warriors will look to junior Aaron Evans as a run-type QB, while sophomore Evan Eshbach will be used as more of a “game management” style of quarterback. Neither has much experience at the varsity level, says their coach, but both have their strengths.

“They both offer individual abilities, and we’re going to try to maximize those the best we can,” said Eshbach.

As part of that varied offensive approach, the Warriors will look for balance between the pass and the run. Alec Rosbrugh will likely be their biggest threat running the ball, while Keyen Peete will back him up. If they’re throwing, they’ll be looking for wide outs Steven Hauntz and Jacob Hand, as well as slot receiver Dylan Hepler and tight ends Dalton Pearish and Will Geer. Evans will sometimes line up in slot, too, says Eshbach.

The ways Wawasee looks to move the ball will just depend on what the defense is giving them.

“We try to be 50/50,” explained Eshbach of his team’s run/ pass balance. “If we read a defense, and they’re giving us the pass, we’ll throw it. It’s not uncommon for us to throw 25 times a game. It just kind of depends on what they’re going to give us. If they load the box, we’ll throw. If they’re dropping guys into coverage, we’ll try to run. It kind of depends on where the numbers are.

“If they balance us out, we always have a breaker for it.”

Gone too is the old, 3-4 defense this year, in favor of a four-man front. The real strength of the Warrior defense in ’17 is their secondary, and Hepler, Hand, Zach Linnemeir and LeShawn Morris will lend their talents at safety, while Will Geer and Raymond Torres will man the inside linebacker spots. But again, Wawasee will let the opponent dictate the package.

“In the past they’ve been a three-four last year. We started out that way and just didn’t think it fit our personnel and what we wanted to accomplish the best so we made some adjustments,” Eshbach explained. “We’re going to be a multiple, four-man front defense. There may be times where we get eight guys in the box with three DBs. There may be times where we’ll bump some other guys out and have four DBs and sort of an adjuster is what we call it or maybe a hybrid linebacker kind of a DB.”

Wawasee’s biggest question mark this year surrounds its lines.

It’s not that the Warriors don’t have size and athleticism there — Alex Castro, Elisha Tipping, Damien Rodriguez, Hlutke, Geer and Pearish are among the early standouts — it’s just that the team is thin up front, and a lot of those guys are going to have to go two ways.

“As far as line goes, I don’t want to say it’s our weakness because it’s not, but that’s certainly where we’re thin,” Eshbach said.

“You’ll really see our linemen are going to have to play both sides. We’ll spare them as much as we can, but we just don’t have a lot of them. When you look at the picture, I think we’ve got 44 guys, and most of those are little-bitty, fast kids. We need a few more big guys, but that’s a work in progress and that’s something we’ll try to accomplish in the offseason.”

Wawasee will open a new series with Lakeland to start the season on Friday before hitting the road for West Noble in Week 2. After that they’ll start Northern Lakes Conference play at Northridge Sept. 1.

It’s a new year for Eshbach with a new area football landscape and new personnel to consider. But the longtime coach — who boasts 18 years of high school coaching experience — says the game doesn’t change no matter where you go. And he’s pleased with his team’s development so far.

“I just think the Xs and Os don’t change a lot. It’s where are your guys at from a strength standpoint, from a numbers standpoint and a depth standpoint,” Eshbach said. “I always say it’s ‘Jimmies and Joes, not Xs and Os.’ And that’s really what we hope decides. If our guys come in and they prepare, and they do what we ask them to do, we really feel pretty confident that we’re going to be in every game with a chance to win. And that’s all we’re worried about.

“I couldn’t be happier with where we’re at. After a week and a day of two-a-days, we’ve made a whole lot of strides there. We’ve still got a ways to go, but we’re making progress.”