Asked how it would feel to finally set foot on home turf tonight, Perry-Lecompton football coach Mike Paramore opened with a quip.

“We won’t forget anything. I know that,” Paramore said.

It’s a pretty good sign when the schedule makers send you on the road for your first three games, and you’re in the frame of mind to joke about it.

Such is the mood surrounding the Kaws these days. Why should a misplaced kicking tee or a forgotten equipment bag get you down when you’re 3-0 for the first time in more than a decade?

That’s the unfamiliar – yet welcome – position in which Perry-Lecompton finds itself heading into tonight’s home opener against Santa Fe Trail. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and Paramore is ready to experience the buzz that accompanies a team on the rise.

“I fully expect there’s going to be a great crowd,” Paramore said. “I think folks are excited with where things are going.”

The Kaws (3-0) already have matched last year’s win total with defense and a punishing running game.

Perry-Lecompton opened the season with 11 straight quarters of shutout defense, the string ending late in the fourth quarter of last week’s 35-8 victory over Anderson County after Paramore emptied his bench.

The Kaws also have been solid on the other side of the ball, averaging a shade over 31 points per game behind their dynamic senior duo of tailback Cory McPherson and fullback Sean Blosser.

It’s the latter of those two who most concerns Santa Fe Trail coach Dave Watkins.

“Everything they do kind of goes through the Blosser kid. He’s their workhorse,” Watkins said. “If you can stop Blosser and limit what they do on the ground attack, you’ve got a chance.”

The Chargers (1-2) will attempt to fulfill that goal by putting a slight twist on an old sports adage. The way Watkins sees it, the best defense is a good showing by his wing-T offense, led by Santa Fe Trail’s own senior duo in halfback Aaron Beatty and fullback Chris Sadler.

“That starts with … being able to run the clock and get points when we have the ball,” Watkins said. “We’ve got to be able to sustain some drives and keep those kids (Blosser and McPherson) off the field.”