Garry Cathell enters his second season at Elizabeth Forward with high hopes.

The Warriors have 10 starters returning on each side of the ball from a team that went winless in 10 games. The Warriors haven't posted a winning season since 2000

"We had a very young team last year," Cathell said. "We had nine seniors and only two were starters. We have almost everybody back."

Cathell spent the entire offseason getting his players ready for the upcoming season.

"I put an emphasis on weight training and improving our speed," he said. "We have one heck of a weight room and the kids are taking advantage of it. We have 16 kids who are benching 320 [pounds] or more, and two benching 400. We also went through an eight-week running program to improve our overall speed.

"We're not ready to challenge Thomas Jefferson for the Big Seven Conference title yet, but we will not be pushed around like we were last year. In fact, things are coming together faster than they did in my previous two coaching stints at Peters Township and Butler. It's exciting to see how quickly we're improving."

The Warriors backfield returns intact. Senior quarterback Corey Sevcik (5-11, 160) threw for 681 yards and four touchdowns, despite missing the last two games with an injury. Junior tailback Gerald Johnson (5-10, 185) rushed for 515 yards on 106 carries. Senior fullback Greg Sotereanos (6-3, 235) rushed for 263 yards on 64 carries.

Sevcik's two favorite receivers are also back. Senior Vinnie Candelore (5-11, 165) had 34 catches for 536 yards, while senior Xavier Means (6-3, 190) had 10 catches for 145 yards.

Returning on the offensive line are: junior tackle Ben Hoover (6-1, 305), senior center Dale Rothey (6-2, 230), senior tackle Justin Criado (6-3, 295), and senior guard Justin Lipinski (6-0, 225). Senior John Williams (6-3, 230) has moved from tight end to guard.

Most of the players listed above will also see time on defense. Others expected to make a significant contribution are senior back Cameron Dixon (6-0, 205), senior end Damon Thaxton (6-0, 215) and senior linebacker Roscoe Bright (6-0, 215).

The Jaguars have reached dynasty status.

They have placed among the top four teams in Class AAA in the WPIAL for 10 consecutive years. Bill Cherpak and his staff have led Thomas Jefferson to five consecutive appearances in the WPIAL Class AAA title game, winning in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Thomas Jefferson has six starters back on offense, including tailback Brian Baldrige (5-9, 190), who missed all but one game last season with a torn ACL. Baldrige rushed for 1,416 yards and 19 touchdowns on 193 carries as a sophomore.

"The injury to Brian gave Orlando Torres and Arthur James a chance to play last year and both rushed for 1,000 yards," Cherpak said. "It's great to have Brian back in the picture. He's fully recovered and ready to pick up where he left off."

Four members of the offensive line are back for their senior year: tight end Brock DeCicco (6-5, 225), center Sean Kundrat (6-2, 248), guard Rob McCall (6-1, 255) and tackle Pat Eger (6-6, 275). DeCicco, Kundrat and McCall were voted to the first team of the All-Big Seven Conference team last season.

The other returnee is senior quarterback Tyler Wehner (5-11, 180), who was excused from the team in Week 8. Wehner, son of former Pittsburgh Pirates player John Wehner, threw for 978 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

"We're giving Tyler another opportunity to work his way back into the lineup," Cherpak said. "What happened in the past, stays in the past. It's a new year and he comes in with a clean slate."

Five starters return on defense, including DeCicco at end and McCall at tackle. The other three defensive returnees are senior linebackers Matt Hufford (6-0, 210) and Jimmy Giansante (6-2, 190), and junior safety Ed Hasis (6-1, 190).

"We have a nice nucleus of returning starters back, and a hungry group of kids who have been waiting for their chance to start," Cherpak said. "The key is to stay healthy."

The Titans have been absent from the WPIAL playoffs the past two years, after a streak of seven consecutive appearances. They fell short of a playoff berth last year after tying for fourth place in the Big Seven with a 2-4 record.

Tim Brennan begins his second year at West Mifflin, after 26 years of coaching in Idaho.

"It's a big difference coming into this season because I know the kids a lot better than I did last year at this time," Brennan said. "I've been able to work with them for a year and had them on an offseason conditioning program. I also know more about the teams in our conference. It should be a lot easier preparing for our opponent each week."

West Mifflin has four starters returning on offense, and five on defense.

The Titans strength on offense will be its line, as three starters return, senior tackle Adam Gress (6-7, 295), junior center Beau Miller (6-0, 230), and senior guard Jarret Criss (6-0, 205). Gress, a Penn State recruit, also started on the defensive line.

"Adam is the cornerstone of our line," Brennan said. "He has the physical tools to be a great player."

Also back on offense are seniors Duane Burgwin (5-10, 190) and Mike Orosz (5-10, 180), who split time at fullback.

"Duane has moved to tailback, while Mike stays at fullback," Brennan said. "Both were also part-time starters on defense at linebacker."

Gress, Burgwin and Orosz are three of five returning starters on defense. The others are senior defensive tackle Brian Benjamin (6-1, 245) and junior linebacker Amir Sanders (5-9, 160).

The biggest loss to graduation was quarterback Mike Neckerman, who threw for 1,271 yards and 12 touchdowns. Juniors Ricky Olasz (5-11, 165) and Sanders are vying hoping to replace Neckerman.

The Colts are looking to extend their run of five consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances.

They placed second in the Big Seven Conference last year and advanced to the quarterfinals, before losing to Pine-Richland, 58-23. The Colts finished with an 8-3 record.

"We lost a talented group of 25 seniors to graduation," said Colts coach Chris Saluga, who enters his eighth season at Char Valley with a 34-38 record, which includes a 28-24 mark over the past five seasons. "We are young and inexperienced. We need to mature quickly."

Saluga has eight starters returning, only three on defense.

Three of the five returnees on offense are running backs Santino Coury (5-10, 175) and Jim Riley (5-8, 180), both seniors, and junior Beau Carson (6-0, 165). Riley led the Colts with 648 yards on 97 carries and scored six touchdowns. Coury rushed for 409 yards on 70 carries, caught 12 passes for 101 yards, and scored nine touchdowns.

The other two returnees on offense are senior tackle Tim Yaksick (6-2, 270) and junior guard Corey Rekasie (6-2, 255)

"Our biggest concern is that we have a lot of unproven players," said Saluga. "They need to step up and fill the starting spots vacated by our senior class."

Rekasie also returns on the defensive line. He is joined by a pair of senior linebackers, Paul Zaccaro (5-10, 190) and Aaron Smith (5-9, 180).