CDS Prep football coach Lane McLaughlin will finally get to see his team in 11-man action Friday during the Patriots’ preseason jamboree Friday against Cambridge Christian and All Saints’ in Winter Haven. But the first-year Patriots coach seemed equally excited Thursday in saying his team finally had the chance to practice on its new football field.

The Patriots had been relegated to a local middle school for practices before being getting clearance earlier this week to set foot on their new playing surface.

“That’s what we’re all excited about,” McLaughlin said.

Another thing the Patriots are excited about is their move to 11-man football this season (they will play as an independent) after winning the Florida Christian Association of Private and Parochial Schools Six-Man Football League state championship in 2007. McLaughlin said he was recently interviewed by a local television media outlet and was asked what the biggest difference he thought there would be for his team making the jump, and the coach couldn’t help but joke a bit.

“I told them the biggest difference was last year our center caught 22 passes,” McLaughlin said.

On a more serious note, one thing McLaughlin has stressed during practice has been conditioning, considering the Patriots’ have only 24 players on the roster (meaning a lot of players will play both ways) and the field dimensions in 11-man are larger than in 6-man (meaning more ground to cover).

“They had to run a lot last year, but we’re still doing a lot of conditioning,” the coach said.

McLaughlin is ready to see his young team in action on Friday, especially one player whom he called “our secret weapon.”

That would be freshman Leon Cusick, a 6-foot, 205-pound running back who McLaughlin believes one day will be a tremendous player.

“The kid looks like Herschel Walker,” the coach said.