Three Bureau County football teams held preseason scrimmages Friday night.

Next week they’ll play for real.

At St. Bede, veteran coach Jim Eustice said the Bruins’ scrimmage went good and “everyone got reps and it was good to see Friday night action and be able to clean up some things for next week.”

The best thing about it, Eustice joked, is that the Bruins won.

“We’re 1-0,” he said.

One highlight of the night was Ryan Nawa’s “pick 6″ with an interception return for a touchdown.

The Bruins, who have joined the Chicago Prairieland Football League this year, will open the season next week with a nonconference date at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington with Tuscola.

Bureau Valley and Hall also scrimmaged Friday. The Storm used their scrimmage to prepare for next week’s opener at Erie-Prophetstown while the Red Devils geared up for Orion.

Storm coach Mat Pistole was very pleased with the BV scrimmage.

“I loved the energy and enthusiasm we showed,” he said. “We executed at a really high level at times. I was very happy with our defensive execution. We still have a lot to clean up over the next seven days, but I really like where we are at heading into Week 1.”

Princeton did not scrimmage Friday, but suited up for photo day and looked game ready. The Tigers will make the trip to Monmouth-Roseville to start the season where they ended their regular season a year ago.

“As a coach, you’re always thinking of something else your team needs to prepare for,” Tiger coach Ryan Pearson said. “Week 1 is always tough, because you don’t have film on the opponent that you’re playing. You’re just kind of going off what they’ve done in years past.

“We’re trying to make sure that our kids are prepared for all that stuff. At the same time, you go into Week 1, and many, many times there’s always adjustments that are on the fly. Hopefully, we’ve prepared our kids enough to do that. If we can do that, it’s going to help us with our success.”