Marshfield coach Kent Wigle sees one bright spot to his team’s difficult preseason schedule — the Pirates should be well-prepared for the challenges of the tough Midwestern League next month.

After facing two of the top Class 4A schools from last year — an endowment game win over North Bend and two-point loss to defending 4A champion Marist — the Pirates play their first home game this week against Ashland.

The Grizzlies are 2-0, with wins over Class 4A schools Phoenix and Henley, and are the defending Southern Sky League champions. They were perfect in the regular season last year, and reached the Class 5A quarterfinals before losing to Glencoe.

After Ashland, Marshfield has home games against Class 6A Grants Pass, which reached the second round of the playoffs last year and has dominated Hood River Valley and Centennial this year. The final preseason foe for the Pirates is Jesuit, which reached the quarterfinals last year after winning the Portland Interscholastic League and is 1-1 this year with a loss to defending state champion West Albany.

Of the five preseason foes, only North Bend is not ranked in the top 10 of in the initial Associated Press poll, released Wednesday, and the Bulldogs were 11th in Class 4A.

“We’ve got a test every week,” Wigle said.

So far, the Pirates’ biggest problem has been themselves.

Last week against Marist, Marshfield had four turnovers — three interceptions and a fumble out of the end zone — and missed the extra points after three of their four touchdowns. The Pirates also forced just one Marist turnover.

That’s understandably one of the team’s focuses this week.

“We’ve improved a great deal,” Wigle said. “We just have to eliminate turnovers.”

Marshfield also needs to get better on defense after allowing 410 yards of offense to Marist.

“Right now, the most important thing is for us to be more physical every play,” Wigle said. “And take care of the football and take it away.”

Against Ashland, the Pirates are facing a school brimming with confidence.

In addition to their league title in football, the Grizzlies won the Class 5A state title in baseball.

“They have a good nucleus returning of guys that have been successful in other sports, and they have that winning attitude going,” Wigle said.

Quarterback Talon Haggard is a talented runner and passer who missed last season because of an injury. He had three touchdown runs in a come-from-behind 27-21 win over Henley and three touchdown passes in last week’s 36-16 win over Phoenix.

Haggard’s two biggest weapons are twins — Charlie and Lewis Sebrell.

Charlie Sebrell, a receiver, had five receptions for 136 yards and two scores last week. Lewis Sebrell ran for 107 yards on 16 carries and had a touchdown run and a touchdown catch. He also had a touchdown run and 90 yards rushing against Henley.

The Pirates and Grizzlies met the past two years, with each team winning on its home turf.

Marshfield beat Ashland 33-7 in 2006 and missed a great opportunity for a win at Ashland last year, falling 13-12.

“We had our chances,” Wigle said.

The Pirates led in the second half before Ashland had a 75-yard touchdown pass, and held the Grizzlies to 66 yards rushing for the game. Marshfield moved the ball down the field after the Grizzlies took the lead, but a 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Marshfield had its chances against Marist, too.

The Pirates went for two points after their first two touchdowns, and missed both times.

“We did not execute correctly on what should have been easy conversions,” Wigle said.

Then there were the turnovers. Two of the interceptions were in the hands of Marshfield receivers, but taken away by Marist defenders.

“We had a chance to beat them and didn’t quite get the job done,” Wigle said. “We need to take that next step.”

One big plus this week is the season debut of the team at Pete Susick Stadium.

“It is nice to get back home,” Wigle said. “That will be nice for the next three weeks.”

The game is also part of an exciting weekend at Marshfield that also includes the debut of the new South Coast Youth Football League on Saturday at Pete Susick Stadium, with a tripleheader that starts at 9 a.m., and a game Saturday night for Marshfield’s junior varsity team against the Oakland High School varsity squad.

“It’s an exciting Friday and Saturday,” Wigle said.