After months of training, conditioning and preparation throughout the offseason, the Salisbury football team's kickoff of the 2013 season is just around the corner.

The Falcons are eager to take the field and are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead. They travel to Bangor Memorial Stadium Friday night. The Slaters finished 7-3 in the Colonial League last year.

"I think our kids are starting to come around to that culmination of everything they've done in the offseason and two-a-days," said head coach Andy Cerco. "They finally get to do it for real. So I think they're excited for the opportunity."

During last season's matchup in which the Slaters won 20-7, the Falcons trailed by just a touchdown in the final minutes.

It was a solid start under Cerco, who is now in his second season at the helm, and the Falcons will look to build off that as the 2013 season is set to get under way.

Last year, however, the Falcons had the pleasure of hosting that week one matchup against the Slaters. A trip up to Bangor on Friday night will be one main difference from the matchup a year ago.

"Just by doing the same repetitions, they've built a confidence that they understand what needs to be done in order to be successful on Friday night," said Cerco.

"I think they have a little bit of confidence going into the game, and the fact that they can go up against people and be a competitive football team."

Slater senior running back Phil Vass returns. He has drawn plenty of attention from around the league, and for good reason. Arguably the team's most explosive offensive weapon, Vass rushed for 1,687 yards on 244 carries as a junior last season. He added 20 rushing scores as well, and figures to be a handful for the Colonial League again.

"He's a big, physical kid, and he can also run away from people," said Cerco. "It's easy to find him, [but] stopping and wrapping him up is always a challenge.

"He's a talented player, and he's got a good team around him. It's always a challenge when you got a situation like that."

Cerco compares preparing for a game under Friday's lights with taking a test in school. You prepare as much as you can for your upcoming opponent, and emphasize the aspects of the game that you can control.

"You do your homework, and you look at the other team's film and what they do well and what they don't do well, and [you] try and take advantage of those things," said Cerco. "You prepare all week and your test is Friday night."