When Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest kicks off the 2012 prep football season next week, the Crusaders will be unleashing an eruptive force of an offense and a veteran-dominated defense, both ready to impose their will on the opposition.

Third-year starter Nate Drews, a genuine gunslinger under center at quarterback, enters the season as one of the state's top small-school field generals, having thrown for more than 3000 yards over the past two campaigns.

Drews, who is also a high-scoring forward on the school's basketball team, won't have a lack of targets in the Crusaders' passing assault, as Josh Morrison, Matt Mischley and Ian Wellhausen will combine to form a premiere receiving corps. Morrison is a steady playmaker, poised for a breakout season stretching the field and Mischley, who doubles as the school's top baseball talent, has had an extremely productive offseason on the gridiron.

The X-Factor for Lutheran Northwest's season could lie in transfer Josh Machs. Slated to be the team's No. 1 option in the rushing game, Machs has played at Southfield Christian the past two years.

Machs and Ben Augusta will lead the squad's linebacker unit, while its line play will be led by senior co-captain Greg Maynard and junior Nick Raby, a couple of rugged roughhousers that will be relied on to be a pair of tough-handles in the trenches.

In the secondary, Morrison and Wellhausen are expected to be the premiere cornerback tandem in their league.

Head coach Don Justice, entering his ninth year on the sidelines, is looking to return his team to the playoffs after missing out on the postseason last fall with a 4-5 overall record. Before 2011, Lutheran Northwest had made the playoffs for three straight campaigns, including claiming two league titles in a row in 2008 and 2009. Since Justice assumed headphone duties, he has guided the Crusaders to playoff berths in five of his eight seasons at the helm.