The Austin football team will start this season the same place that their last season ended, in Red Wing.

The Packers will head back to Red Wing to open their season Friday at 7 p.m.

Head coach Brett Vesel will be coaching in his first game for the Packers and he’s not overly concerned with the program’s current 19-game losing streak.

He just wants to see his team execute.

“We want to win every game,” Vesel said. “It wouldn’t matter if we’ve lost one hundred in a row or if we’re undefeated. We want to win this game.”

The Wingers took two games from Austin last season as their quarterback Joel Newman totaled 322 yard passing and three touchdowns in the two contests. Newman graduated, but the Wingers will probably still look to air it out on Friday as well.

Vesel said he’s familiar with Red Wing’s system as he coached against their head coach Matt Schultz, when Schultz was coaching at Cannon Falls.

“I know these guys and we’ve watched film of them,” Vesel said. “They look very similar to last year and they can throw the ball. Their new quarterback looks pretty good.”

The Packers played in a scrimmage this past weekend in Mankato and Vesel said his team struggled against the pass early. But since then, they’ve shown steady improvement.

“Our run defense is our strength and we’re gonna bring a lot of pressure. We’re not just gonna stick it on the defensive backs,” Vesel said. “The offense is coming along and it’s still not where we want it to be. It’s getting better every day.”