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The Red Devils haven't beaten Boyne City in football since 2000, and that will undoubtedly be a major thought in their minds when they attend the first day of conditioning.

It's not too far away, either. The summer seems to be melting away.

Not that fretting over past failures against the Ramblers has ruined any of the players' offseason pursuits.

But, it's certainly going to be the prevailing theme when they return to practice on Aug. 9.

Obviously, no coach is going to circle a particular date on the calendar and point to it as the team's defining game for the entire season.

Still, knocking off the Ramblers ranks pretty high on the list of things the Red Devils want to do this year.

Winning all of their games is the ultimate goal, but they are also realistic enough to realize that accomplishing that feat might be next to impossible considering the caliber of competition they'll face.

Boyne City is only one of nine good teams on the schedule.

Elk Rapids, a team the Red Devils will see at home this season, made the playoffs for the first time in school history last year and hope to do it again.

The Ramblers finished the regular season 6-3 and qualified for the playoffs, too, and then there's the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators, who won a state title a few years ago.

Victories against all three would be huge. Only one opponent stands out for the Red Devils, though, and that's Boyne City.

After taking a 20-0 lead at the half last year, the Ramblers scored 21 points in the second half and rolled up a 41-12 victory that still resounds in the minds of the Red Devils who'll be back to try again.

David Marr returned a Boyne City kickoff for one touchdown, and the Red Devils scored again on a long drive on a oneyard run by their quarterback.

But the Ramblers just had too much for the Red Devils. This year, East Jordan plans to gets some payback.