Fredericksburg High School football gets its first live game action this Friday against a defending regional champion.

The Billies face the Navarro Panthers in the first of two scrimmages Friday at Panther Field in Navarro.

Freshmen and junior varsity start at 5 p.m. and the varsity takes on the Panthers, who won the Class 4A -DII -Region IV championship last year, at 6 p.m.

FHS head football coach Lance Moffett views the scrimmage as a good chance to get ready for the Slot-T offense, which District 14-4A DI favorites Canyon Lake and non-district opponent Hondo both run.

“We play Canyon Lake and they’re picked to win the district,” Moffett said. “They run the Slot-T. Liberty Hill and Navarro come to mind. They’re kind of all in the same system and we really haven’t been scrimmaging anyone who did it. We need to scrimmage another Slot-T.”

The Slot-T runs on misdirection and deception, making it hard for defenses to pick up their reads.

Navarro rode the offense to a 14-1 record in 2016, including the District 13-4A DII title and a trip to the Class 4A DII state semifinals.

The pre-season tilt also gives the Billies a chance to run at full speed against unfamiliar faces.

“You can’t emulate game speed in practice,” Moffett said. “The other night we had an inter-squad scrimmage where we did best on best. That’s the best look we could give each other. I think you look at game speed in a scrimmage. I think you execute your base schemes.

“I don’t think you try to win the scrimmage, per se. I think you try to do what you’re going to do and adapt it to whatever they do.”

The Billies scrimmage Lago Vista on Thursday, Aug. 24, at Lago Vista High School. Freshmen and junior varsity start at 5:30 p.m. and varsity plays at 6 p.m.