The Pike Liberal Arts varsity football team isn’t the only one on Kervin Drive with a new coach.

The junior varsity team will meet Lee-Scott Academy in Auburn tonight in the first game of the Josh Ritter era at Pike Liberal Arts.

While new to Pike, Ritter brings several years of coaching experience to the gridiron, most recently at Geneva County High School in Hartford.

Ritter said the last few weeks of prep work have helped the young players learn the new system put in place by himself and varsity head coach Gene Allen.

“We use the same terminology and philosophy as the varsity,” Ritter said. “The JV team can be a great development and feeder system to the varsity. We want to team them all we can at this level so the learning curve won’t be as steep in a few years when they begin varsity play.”

The Pike Lib junior varsity team will play eight games in 2013. The Pats will face Lee-Scott, Ft. Dale and Crenshaw Christian on the road, and will welcome Glennwood, Northside Methodist, Lakeside, Macon East and Hooper to the friendly confines of Dwight Ward Field.

Ritter said that the junior varsity Patriots must believe in themselves and develop confidence during the season.

“This group of kids is very athletic and can win some ball games,” said Ritter. “But if things do get bad, they will have to be able to keep their head down and not listen to others. They will need to believe they can win, and then the wins will add up.”

In addition to the Pike Liberal Arts junior varsity team, the termite and peewee teams will also be in action.

Kick off for the first game of the night is set for 5:00 p.m in Auburn.