The Fort Scott Community College Greyhounds will open their 2012 football season against the Scotties of Highland in a Jayhawk Conference game on Saturday evening in Highland, Kansas.

Fort Scott's Head Coach Curtis Horton enters his second season at the helm for the Hounds, sixth season overall, and will look at experience as a key to this year's team success. "We were young last season and we went through some hard knocks, but we did it as a team and the season ended good for us and with the work the kids have put in during the off season we look forward to the challenge of a new season" Horton said about the 2011 football campaign that held a successful 4-4 record for a team that lost 90% of their starters from a season before.

Defensive will be the strength of the Greyhounds with several players that saw action during the 2011 season returning for their sophomore seasons. The Hounds return six players on the defensive side of the ball that either started or played several minutes last Fall for the Fort. Throw together those players, the returning redshirts, and the great recruiting class Horton brought in, and the Hounds could make it tough for the Maroon and Gray to be scored on.

Conference interception leader Kevin Short returns to his defensive back position while fellow d-back Austin Fulson brings along his 45 tackles from last season. Defensive tackle Justin Taimatuia will be returning to his familiar position while linebacker Anthony Curtis will man the middle of the field on defense. All four players are returning sophomores.

Offensively, Fort Scott will be brand new with only one player returning from the 2011 offense. Horton will look at Sean Strehl, a 6'2" 215 pound quarterback from St. Louis (MO) to guide the Greyhound offense in 2012. Speed and Size is the strength of the offense with the speed coming from their 6'3" 200 pound wide receiver Jared Dangerfield and 6' 190 pound running back Stanley Hagan. Dangerfield, a sophomore from Royal Palm Beach (FL) was a stand-out during spring drills and will look to bring excitement to the Frary Field turf. Hagan is a freshman from Nashville, Tennessee.

The size will be the huge offensive line that will be donning the nickname the "Big Dawgs" this season. Chris Mayer and Anthony Moore will anchor opposite sides of the offensive line while tilting the scales at 355 pounds and 325 pounds respectively; both are 6'7". Both players could get plenty of attention from D1 schools with their size and talents. Mayer, a Mill Valley product, was a starter last season.

Highland brings into 2012 a much improved football team from previous years and with new Head Coach Ryan Held bringing a winning feeling with him, he was previously the offensive coordinator at Butler County, the Scotties feel they could make some noise in an already powerful Jayhawk  Conference.

The Scotties will look for Held to bring in the talent that he had at his previous post and it may start with quarterback Shunquez Stephens coming to Highland, Kansas. Stephens, a 6'5" Alabama State transfer, will bring speed, size, and a great arm to an offense that has had trouble scoring points in the past. The only returning player from last season's team is running back Brian Handley. Handley from Monticello, Arkansas will be vying for the starting spot as will Skylar Hawkins from Paola, Kansas.

Defensively, the Scotties will be playing a "swarming" type of defensive style that is notorious for creating turnovers. Held wants to install a fun, attacking and simple defensive scheme that allows the players to go play, fly around, and have fun while utilizing their talents. Held knows that his team must improve on tackling and has made fundamentals the defensive unit's number one priority.

In the 2011 contest, the Greyhounds handed the Scotties a 34-14 loss that was won from start to finish by the home team. Highland ended the season 1-8.

Kick-off for the 2012 season opener for the Fort Scott Greyhounds is set for 7:00pm.

Fans that cannot make it to Highland can listen to the game on KSEK "The Ticket" 99.1FM ESPN radio the voice of the 'Hounds. Pregame will start at 6:00pm and live play by play will start at 7:00pm. Fans can also utilize the internet to listen to live streaming of the game on www.991espnfortscott.com.

A new feature for FSCC athletic fans is the new and improved Greyhound Athletics Web Page. This can be found by typing www.fsgreyhounds.com. All Greyhounds sports can be found on this page along with stats, media relations, and stories about your Greyhound team.