Barry Emo and the Oakville Longhorns enjoyed the best of both worlds Saturday.

Not only did the Longhorns earn a victory in their opening game of the Northern Football Conference season, a 34-13 decision over the Toronto Maddogs at Bronte Athletic Field, but Emo -- Oakville's new head coach -- also had an opportunity to utilize nearly his entire roster and evaluate the talent at his disposal.

Josh Spanik, Mike Hyatt and Tom Denison -- all battling for the starting quarterback's job -- each saw at least a quarter of action, with all three of them throwing at least one touchdown pass in the win. Emo was also able to shuffle players in and out throughout the contest, particularly on defense, allowing his players to stay fresh despite Saturday's hot and muggy conditions.

"It was a good way to start the year," said Emo, a former Longhorns player who coached the Milton Marauders the past several seasons before rejoining Oakville this year. "We have three quarterbacks that could start for any team in this league, and defensively we had 22 different bodies in the game. Between our No. 1 and No. 2 guys there is not a lot of drop-off talent-wise, but there are things people do differently, so we're trying to insert players to fit certain packages."

Not that the Longhorns showed many of those defensive packages Saturday night. With the defending national champion Oshawa Hawkeyes on hand to scout Oakville, the Longhorns only utilized about 10 of their 60 defensive plays against Toronto, Emo said. The Hawkeyes and Longhorns will clash this weekend in Oshawa.

Hyatt will get the start against the Hawkeyes, while Denison is expected to be under centre at the beginning of Oakville's third game, June 16 in Sault Ste. Marie. Spanik started Saturday and played the entire first half.

Emo said the club will decide on a full-time starting quarterback after those three games, acknowledging that, with a large and deep roster, it will be nearly impossible to keep everybody happy.

Competition for playing time

"There will be 24 guys that will love me to death, and 31 that will want to bury a hatchet in my back," he said. "I have to be able to justify why guys start. No. 1 on the list is practice attendance, then it's financial commitment to the team, then it's athletic ability. If everything is equal, it will come down to athletic ability."