Defensive line Lewis Smith reckons East Kilbride Pirates’ opening game of the season could be a defining one in their quest for NFC North Division One glory in 2022.
The new American football season in the UK gets underway this weekend and Pirates head to Northumberland Vikings on Sunday to kick things off.
Smith, 22, said: “We’ve been looking forward to it and preparing for it for a while because we know it’s going to be a battle.
"I think they’ll be our main rivals.
“It’s the first game, but it could be a defining one. Everyone is in good spirits and really up for it. The plan is to get promoted and hopefully we can do that.
"Things are looking really good for this season. We had a really good rookie day, there's been good recruitment and a lot of the guys have stayed on.
"We managed to have our pre-season camp in Strathallan which was really good.
"Northumberland is going to be one of the biggest games of the season.
"We've been looking forward to it and preparing for it for a while because we know it's going to be a battle."
Unfortunately for Smith, his preparations haven't gone according to plan with injury ruling him out of the clash and next week's trip to Inverclyde Goliaths.
He added: "I've been injured all of pre-season but I've been to sessions and everyone feels we will do well.
"I twisted my knee in training and it's just not healed up right. I'm away to the physio this week about it but I'm hopeful I can be back after the first couple of games.
"It's looking to be a good season for us so I want to be a part of it."
The full schedule for the Pirates is as follows:
April 24– Northumberland Vikings (A)
May 1 – Inverclyde Goliaths (A)
May 15 – Yorkshire Rams (H)
May 22 – Glasgow Tigers (H)
June 5 – Inverclyde Goliaths (H)
June 19 – Northumberland Vikings (H)
June 26 – Lancashire Wolverines (H)
July 3 – Glasgow Tigers (A)
July 24 – Yorkshire Rams (A)
July 31 – Lancashire Wolverines (A)
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