PORTAGE | The hits were a little harder and emotions ran a little higher on Friday night.

After spending the last two weeks beating up against their own teammates, members of the Portage and Munster football teams were eager to hit someone wearing a different-colored jersey.

The two teams battled each other for more than two hours on Friday before opposing coaches Mark Peterson (Portage) and Leroy Marsh (Munster) wished each other good luck on the upcoming season.

"Directly and indirectly, this is an opportunity to hit someone different," Peterson said. "This gives us a chance to look at the film tomorrow and start to solidify some things."

The Indians (6-4 last season) got off to an inauspicious start when new starting tailback Jake Dixon ran for a loss of 5 yards on the opening play. The junior shook himself off and made a 58-yard reception on the next play with a majority of the yards coming after the catch. Dixon capped off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run as the Indians were 65 yards in just six plays.

"That drive gave us confidence coming out of the gate," Dixon said. "It felt good for me to go out and be an every down back. Granted it was a scrimmage, but it was nice to get into the flow."

The Mustangs (7-4 last season) showed variety on offense with a pair of quarterbacks in senior Josh Lukoshus and sophomore Mark Strbjak. Both quarterbacks moved in and out of the lineup during the modified structure that allowed for as many as 15 straight plays regardless of how many times a team scored.

"I'm happy with the effort of the kids, but we still need to reduce the number of silly penalties," Marsh said. "I'd say from technique we had a B and enthusiasm we had a B-plus. We're not going to beat Lake Central (next week) unless we get those up to an A."

While the Mustangs will host Lake Central on Friday night, the Indians will travel to Mishawaka Marian to open their season.

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