East Allegheny coach Dennis Edwards has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming season. About 2,048 of them.

That's how many yards Monte Ashby rushed for last year, second in the WPIAL, after gaining more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore the year before at Duquesne. He also scored 23 touchdowns.

"When you have a 2,000-yard rusher returning, there's a lot to be excited about," Edwards said.

Ashby will have to be even better this season, however, because he won't have the same offensive line as last season. The Wildcats' top seven linemen graduated, including three who were named to the All-Interstate Conference team.

Senior Troy Sloan will provide leadership for a group of linemen short on experience. The Wildcats also have a new starting quarterback in junior Trevor Morris.

But experience in the form of wide receiver/cornerback Jordan Matthews, wide receiver/linebacker Trevor Lofton and safety/receiver Chavez Allen all are proving senior leadership, Edwards said.

East Allegheny rebounded from a 1-9 season in 2006 to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs last season, buoyed partially by several transfers from Duquesne High School after that school closed.

"I think our goals this year are going to fall along the same lines as last season," Edwards said. "We want a winning season, want to go to the playoffs, want to win a playoff game, want to make a run for a WPIAL title. And I think that we have potential to do a lot of that stuff."

The Bucs had 15 seniors, including five all-conference performers, graduate from a team that lost its final five games of last season after starting 4-0. Only three starters return, and the projected starting quarterback didn't play football last year.

But all is not negative at Burrell, what with former coach Tom Henderson returning after two years -- two non-playoff years -- away from the program.

"The kids are working very hard in practice, and we're getting better each day," Henderson said. "We're excited to see where this takes us."

Senior running back Troy Highfield, senior tackle Steve Johnson and junior safety Mark Kaczanowicz are the only players on the roster who started all of last year, though junior Chris Lindon was a starter at cornerback by the end of last season.

Junior Cameron Nelson is in line to take over at quarterback for 1,227-yard passer Seth Napierkowski.

"He's a very coachable kid," Henderson said of Nelson. "He's like a sponge, taking it all in. He's a good athlete, and he's just going to get better and better."

The Centurions are loaded with experience at the skill positions. How loaded? Loaded enough they can easily mix-and-match players.

Coach Muzzy Colosimo said senior Adam Palcic has shifted to wide receiver after junior Trenton Hurley impressed at quarterback at a Notre Dame football camp. Palcic's athletic ability allows his talent to be showcased at receiver.

So Palcic, who completed 46 for 66 (70 percent) passes for 864 yards, is now a reserve at that position while he goes and shows what he can do catching passes. That's the kind of depth Greensburg Central possesses.

The Centurions have junior David Miller and sophomore Andy Biros at tailback, senior Nick Karabin and junior Zack Wilson at fullback, Palcic, senior Nate Antone and junior Evan Marshall at wide receiver.

Palcic, all-conference linebacker Karabin and senior Mark Hornfeck, who led the team with 13 touchdowns last season, and senior Joe Mahoney were cited by Colosimo as team leaders.

Only a handful of starters return from last season's PIAA championship squad that dominated the competition and will go down as, arguably, one of the best in WPIAL history. That doesn't exactly mean there is a dearth of talent.

Running back Jordan Hall rushed for 872 yards and scored 32 touchdowns in 2007. He and lineman Chris Hall were All-Interstate Conference selections last season.

Despite the loss of Terrelle Pryor, the Jayhawks still remain loaded at the skill positions with players such as Jordan Hall, Dane Vaughn, Toddy Harris, Mariell McGowan, James Derry, Trent Errett and Justin Kettren. It's on the line where coach Ray Reitz said there were question marks.

Junior Sam Moore is one of the lone players with extensive starting experience.

"There's a little bit of edge on our kids," Reitz said. "With Terrelle and everyone else gone, some people say we'll only win two games, which is all good. You don't know how anything's going to play out. We'll just play our hardest and see how it plays out."

New classification, new conference, new coach, new stadium turf, new players.

The Vikings of 2008 don't bare much of a resemblance to last season's group that went 7-3 and qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

Mount Pleasant has dropped to Class AA and moved from the Keystone Conference into the Interstate. Bo Ruffner takes over as head coach, replacing Mark Lyons. And the team emerged with returning starters at only five positions after almost 20 seniors graduated.

Seniors Rick Snyder and Jeff Welc (defensive back), senior Alex Bates (guard) and junior Brandon Bunting (offensive and defensive tackle) are the lone returning starters for Ruffner, who coached Hempfield in 2003-04.

Each figures to play on offense and defense this season, and senior Rick Goughenour was in line to take over as the starting quarterback.

The Vikings have not lost a conference game since 2005 and have qualified for the postseason every year since 2002. But they have not won a playoff game in that time.

The Vikings closed out the regular season on a four-game winning streak to qualify for the 2007 playoffs for a third consecutive year and welcome back three players named to the All-Allegheny Conference team in seniors Anthony Saunders, Bryan Hetrick and John Marshall.

Saunders plays in the secondary on defense and will be put at different places on offense in an effort to get him the ball. Already a standout linebacker, Hetrick has been getting reps at fullback. Marshall, 6-1, 210 pounds, and Troy Hill Jr., 6-4, 210, are a solid combination at the offensive tackle and defensive end positions. Senior Brad Marzullo is another player who should contend for all-conference consideration at wide receiver and safety.

"All of those guys try to lead by example," Valley coach Troy Hill Sr. said.

"That's really one thing the coaches have noticed is they're not as boisterous as the guys of the last few years and they definitely lead by example."

As of Monday, sophomore Dom Stokes was in line in to be the team's starting quarterback for the opener Aug. 29. Stokes saw limited playing time at the position last season.