The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau football team that will come to Tomah Friday won’t be that much different from the one the Timberwolves played last year.

The Timberwolves? Unlike last season, they’ll be at full strength.

Grades and athletic code violations have yet to produce a single casualty for a Tomah team that will play its opener Friday, 7 p.m., at Tomah’s E.J. McKean Field.

Last season, Tomah faced G-E-T without 11 players who didn’t suit up because of eligibility issues. The result was a 16-6 loss that was worse than it sounds. Tomah was never really in the game and only averted a shutout with a touchdown late in the final quarter. It was Tomah’s only regular season loss of the year.

This year, Tomah doesn’t have a single player who’s ineligible. That makes Tomah coach Brad Plueger a happy man.

“Our kids have been really responsible over the offseason,” Plueger said. “They got in the weight room, kept their grades up and kept their noses clean.”

Tomah will face a G-E-T team that’s coming off an 8-3 season and a run through the second round of the WIAA Division 4 playoffs, where the Redmen lost to eventual champion West Salem. Plueger anticipates G-E-T will rely on its efficient running game.

“They’re big,” Plueger said. “I don’t know if they’re as fast as they were last year, but they’re still faster than us.”

Last year, the Redmen gained 264 yards against Tomah -- all but 12 of it on the ground. The Redmen completed just one pass in five attempts.

The Redmen return fullback Jacob Bambenek, who rushed 15 times for 59 yards against Tomah. He finished the season with 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“They’ll ride (Bambenek), but they’ll balance the ball out,” Plueger said.

However, Tomah figures to bring a better rushing game than it did last season. The G-E-T game was the first varsity start for Tomah tailback Joel Sweeney, whose 61 yards in 20 carries didn’t offer any clue to the kind of season the sophomore would eventually have. He finished the season with 1,380 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Plueger said the Redmen will jam the line of scrimmage.

“They’ll play a 5-3 defense and put a lot of guys in the box,” Plueger said. “They’ll pin their ears back and come right at you.”

Ironically, the only Tomah player to score a touchdown in last year’s game will play a different position Friday. Dustin Burkwalt accounted for Tomah’s only score when lined up at wide receiver and caught a touchdown pass from Lane Zahrte with 2:22 left in the contest. Burkwalt begins this season at the Timberwolves’ starting quarterback.

The junior varsity team opens its season Tuesday with a trip to Black River Falls. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. at Black River Falls High School.

The freshman opener is Thursday, 5:30 p.m., at West Salem.