Central Catholic finished 8-3 overall last season and 4-1 and in second place in the Quad East Conference. They were beaten by McKeesport in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs.

Coach Terry Totten, 44-7 in his four years since replacing Art Walker, begins his fifth season looking at helping the team improve in one critical area in particular. But improvement in the offensive line, he says, will stimulate improvement in the running and passing games and, to an extent, in the defense, which in theory would spend less time on the field if the offense controls the ball more effectively than it did at times last season.

"Our offensive line should be highly improved," Totten said. "That should improve the running game and that should help us.

"We've got a couple holes to fill on defense. I'm a believer that if you run the ball well, play solid defense and don't make mistakes in the kicking game, you'll win. The one thing we need to do better this year is take better care of the ball in big games. Not doing that hurt us last year."

Central has some of the kinds of players to help it achieve those goals returning this season. The group includes standout senior linebacker D.J. Myers (5-10, 185), who also will see action at wide receiver. Senior lineman Mark Bozzo (6-1, 250), will anchor the offensive line with help from fellow senior Nick Hartzell (5-11, 260).

Senior tight end Joe Sangimino (6-3, 215) provides blocking and receiving skills with senior linebacker Malik Johnson another key performer on defense. Senior Matt Maczura will handle punting and placekicking duties and will give the Vikings an edge in the special teams area.

Totten is seeking more consistency on offense. In last year's playoffs, the Vikings walloped Penn-Trafford, 42-0, in the opening round but managed only six points in the 28-6 quarterfinal loss to McKeesport that ended their season.

Coach Troy Wilson begins his first season as head coach after eight years as an assistant coach. He takes over a team that finished 1-9 overall and 1-4 and in fifth place in the six-team Big East Conference in 2008, but has aspirations of competing for a playoff berth this season.

"[Making the playoffs] is our goal," Wilson said. "For years, this was a very good program but it has gone downhill the past few years. We should compete for a playoff spot. The Big East is a tough conference, but we think we can compete."

Kiski has a number of skill players back on both sides of the ball from last season who Wilson believes will be the strength of the team. That strength will show itself, he said, if the team gets stronger and tougher on both the offensive and defensive lines.

"We have good skill players but we need to improve our line play," Wilson said. "If you don't have good line play, you're not going to do anything, especially in the Big East with teams such as Central Catholic and Penn Hills.

"Our kids hit the weight room pretty hard in the offseason so we should be much better."

Wilson believes he has three players who can help in that regard in senior Chris Cernicky (6-4, 225), who will play tight end on offense and double at defensive end; sophomore Chris Bryan (6-2, 280), a two-way tackle; and senior Jordan Zito (6-0, 215), who will play at guard on the offensive line and at end on the defensive side.

Top returners at the skill positions include senior Tarique Godson (5-10, 180), who will see time at quarterback, running back and cornerback; senior Josh Taylor (5-10, 180), a running back and outside linebacker; junior Aaron Frye (6-0, 180), who will play wingback, running back and handle the punting; senior Matt Johnson (6-2, 205) at quarterback and outside linebacker; and junior Bill Emerick (5-11, 170), who will play quarterback and linebacker.

Wilson said as training camp opened, all positions were up for grabs. Godson, Johnson and Emerick entered camp in a three-way battle to win the starting quarterback job.

Coach Ron Graham is hoping to develop a strong defense this season, but admittedly is starting with a mixed bag.

"We're hoping to be real solid on defense," said Graham, beginning his second season as head coach. "But at the same time, we have a lot of untested personnel. We've got three linebackers and none of them have started [at the positions they will play this season] with the varsity. We've got some work to do finding out if some of these inexperienced gentlemen can play."

The Indians had a strong season in 2008, finishing 8-4 overall and winning the Big East Conference title with a 5-0 mark. They advanced to the WPIAL semifinals by beating two playoff opponents by a combined 64-7, but fell to Gateway, 38-23, in the semifinals.

The Indians will be trying to fill a number of key spots left open by graduation, including that of four-year starter Tom Fulton at quarterback. Senior Nick Cyphers, who is coming off a wrist injury last year, went into camp as the No. 1 quarterback with sophomore Chaz Whitaker pushing for playing time. Graham said none of the candidates to take over for Fulton has played a varsity down at quarterback in his career.

But Penn Hills has plenty of other options that should help it play well enough early to allow its younger players to mature. The team is led by four NCAA Division I prospects, with senior defensive lineman Aaron Donald (Pitt) and senior linebacker Myles Davis (Syracuse) already committed to schools and senior cornerback Brandon Ifill and senior safety Cullen Christian each mulling a number of Division I offers.

Graham also sees some strength in his offensive line where seniors Nick Bernhardy, a 6-0, 275-pound center, guard Taylor Adams (6-1, 236) and tackle Brett Allen (6-1, 250) lead the way.

Frank Sacco, who played at Plum from 1980-82, takes over the program after 15 years as an assistant under Bill Rometo, who retired following the 2008 season.

Sacco has something of a rebuilding job on his hands, considering the Mustangs were 1-9 overall and finished 0-5 and in last place in the six-team Big East conference.

Plum was often overmatched last season. The Mustangs scored only 44 points in their 10 games and allowed 330. They were shut out five times and managed no more than one touchdown in any game, save for their only win, a 20-13 final game victory against Greater Latrobe.

Sacco, though, is optimistic that the team has the players to begin to turn things around.

"We've got some talent in the secondary and some good running backs," Sacco said. "These kids play hard and they want to win. One of the big problems we had last year was that we did not protect the ball -- we had more than 50 turnovers, and that will kill you.

"If we can cut down on the number of turnovers, I believe we can be a pretty competitive team. We've got to get the kids to believe they can play with anyone. That's one of the big challenges we have."

The Mustangs have some talent. Junior Joe Bailey (5-10, 175) was a first team all-conference selection as a sophomore and junior Ryan Garrity (6-0, 155) was a second team all-conference choice at defensive back. Bailey, senior Ryan Allen (6-0, 195) and junior Corey Myers (5-10, 175) give the team talent and depth in the offensive backfield.

There also is some talent on the offensive line led by senior center Steve Fuhrer (5-9, 185), who also will play linebacker and senior guard Jim Montgomery (6-2, 215), who will double at defensive tackle.

The Wolverines overcame a rash of injuries and resulting inexperience among players who stepped in to replace injured teammates to earn a playoff spot out of the Quad East Conference last season.

This season, with experience gained -- some of it in close losses to powerful teams such as Penn Hills and Central Catholic -- the Wolverines are poised to improve significantly from their 2008 record of 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the Quad East.

"We had a lot of injuries last year and we lost some close games," Wolverines coach George Novak said. "We played a lot of young kids who are back this year. I think the experience some of them got in the close games we played will make us better this year."

One of the team's strengths will be its defensive line, where four starters are back from last year. Senior Khaynin Mosley-Smith (6-1, 285) already has committed to Pitt, one of three Wolverines already with Division I commitments.

He will be joined on the defensive line by senior Rich Gray (6-2, 240) and juniors Julian Turner (6-2, 285) and Alfonzo Strozier (5-10, 255). Novak also is counting on contributions from junior defensive end Quinton Jefferson (6-4, 220).

The defensive backfield also will be a strength with three senior returning starters in cornerback Davon Dixon (5-9, 175), corner Ron DeVaughn (6-0, 180) and safety David McClendon (6-2, 160). Two linebackers, junior Ejuan Price (6-0, 222), who Novak says is a potential Division I player, and sophomore Mike Caprara (6-0, 190), also are back.

Offensively, the line will be built around a pair of potential Division I recruits in senior tackle Bruce Atkins (6-4, 260), son of the former Duquesne basketball star, and senior guard Zack Jessell (6-3, 225).

The offensive skill positions are manned with returning senior starters including quarterback John Yezovich, who threw for 1,400 yards last season along with fullback Cameron Thompkins (5-10, 227), tailback Dom Timbers (5-10, 185) and tight end Mike Lee (6-3, 219). Timbers already has committed to Syracuse and Lee to Purdue.

Novak is hoping several players will emerge at wide receiver to help the passing game. He mentioned junior cousins Lafayette Pitts (6-0, 176) and Jevonte Pitts (5-11, 174) and senior Jayron Polk (5-6, 160) all as versatile athletes who can contribute.

Lafayette Pitts is expected to get opportunities at defensive back, running back and receiver; Jevonte Pitts is the backup quarterback but also will see time at receiver and defensive back and Polk is a standout kick returner who also will play at receiver.

"We have a senior-oriented team, but we have some good underclassmen, too," Novak said. "We were in a lot of close games last year and we need to be more consistent this year.

"I think playing in those kinds of [close] games last season will help us this year. But we have to be able to put a whole game together on both offense and defense. That's the key for us this year."