"We don't even talk about last season," Coach Leif Shay said. "We can't relive the past. It's time to move forward, and it's this group of kids' time."

For all of the talent the Blue Waves lost from their 12-0 team of last year -- not the least being Miguel Maysonet, winner of the Carl A. Hansen Award as the top player in Suffolk -- they return a lot. Twenty-seven players are back from that squad, and the talent they bring with them is why Riverhead is the top-seeded Division II team for the second straight year.

But what this year's team doesn't have is the familiarity that the 2008 Blue Waves had. There is a little more unknown. "There's more question marks," said Shay, who takes a 61-34 (.642) career record into his 12th season.

The biggest question mark of them all is the offensive line. Center Dan Shriver and left tackle Mike Smith are the only remnants of a dominant line from a year ago. Tentatively, they will be lining up alongside left guard Demitrius Brown, right guard Connor Keupp and right tackle Mike Powers, but Shay said that is subject to change. "We have to find the right five guys who will mesh well," he said.

Malcolm Cater and Greg Meyer will run the ball behind that offensive line. Cater, a senior who has accepted a scholarship to play for Syracuse University, also is a tremendous hitter at middle linebacker.

"He's a beast," Shay said. "He's a great player."

When the Blue Waves go to the air, they can look to wide receivers Tim Fitzgerald and Joe Maglione. They are returning starters along with outside linebacker Edwin Perry and middle linebacker Mike Luce.

Steve Kimmelman, who was the backup to Tim Velys last year, takes over as the starting quarterback. Offensive lineman Vinnie Ruskowski, fullback/linebacker Owen Keupp, free safety/fullback Mario Carrerra and outside linebacker C. J. Gevinski also bring varsity experience.

Shay said he is not into making predictions; he just wants his team to improve every week. He said the team's success will depend on how hard the players want to work. "The pieces are there for them to do very well, but it's really up to them," he said.

Sure, expectations are high for the defending Long Island champions, but Cater played down any sense of feeling pressure.

"There's going to be a lot of guys trying to get up at us, but I feel that we're strong enough and we're ready for anything right now," he said. "It can be an amazing year."

When a football team graduates 13 seniors from a 16-player roster, that can be disconcerting. Tell the Bishop McGann-Mercy Monarchs about it.

The Monarchs have only two players with previous varsity experience, junior wide receiver/linebacker Henry Read and sophomore running back/wide receiver/cornerback Tony Marone.

How does a team with such inexperience approach the season?

"How we're approaching it is to talk about it a lot, to talk about the things they have accomplished, to know what to expect on that first Friday night under the lights in our black uniforms," Monarchs Coach Joe Read said. "Obviously, we're young, but I think we have a team that doesn't know how good they're going to be, and has the potential to be very good."

The Monarchs (5-4) made a breakthrough last year, reaching the postseason for the first time in 16 years, and then getting blown out by the powerful Babylon Panthers in a Suffolk Division IV playoff qualifying game. But just reaching that game was a statement in itself for the Monarchs.

"I think it showed that we're not just a pushover group of people who just want to goof around," center/middle linebacker Ryan Heimroth said. "We actually want to win. We want to have fun, but fun for us is hitting and winning."

Joe Read believes his team can do both, its No. 13 seed in Division IV aside.

Depth was a serious issue for the Monarchs last year, and it continues to be. The Monarchs had 12 players starting at 22 positions in 2008; they have those starting slots handled by 13 players this year. Coach Read said he would like the number of two-way starters reduced to nine or eight by the end of the season after some players return from injuries.

Keith Schroeher, a sophomore, has emerged as the No. 1 quarterback. Among the other projected starters are offensive tackle/defensive tackle Anthony Bartanie, offensive tackle/defensive end Matthew Dilandro, kicker/punter Bradly Frabizio, wide receiver/cornerback Tom Kretz, running back/defensive end Steve Lane, wide receiver/cornerback Connor Stepnoski, guard/middle linebacker Robert Terry and wide receiver/safety David Wilmott. Lane and Stepnoski are the only starting seniors.

Joe Read said the course of the season could be set tomorrow night, when McGann-Mercy hosts The Stony Brook School Bears in the first of five regular-season games the Monarchs will play under the lights. He said, "That first Friday night -- there's nothing like it."

bliepa@timesreview.com

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