Preview capsule: Coal City football

Eight offensive starters, to be exact.

And, with an offensive coordinator as creative as Dan Hutchings, this looks to be a fun season for those that bleed green and gold.

"We have a lot of experience on the offensive side of the ball," Onsen said. "We had a good summer, so we're pretty excited about the possibilities this year."

Backfield: Quarterback Colt Smith returns, and he's as good a place to start as any. He threw for 1,069 yards last year on 80-of-153 (52.3 percent) accuracy The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder also ran for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, making him a legitimate double threat. Running back Bobby Kroeger also returns, and he led the team with 791 yards and 8 TDs on the ground, averaging 4.9 yards a carry.

Linemen: Four starters return on the offensive front. Christian Smith, Jimmy Mueller, Kyle Krause and junior Tony Francisco all started last year and have added size and strength.

"Until the end of the year last year, when I told our linemen to gain some weight, we didn't have a guy up front who weighed as much as our quarterback," Onsen said. "This year, they've gotten a year older and hit the weight room, and we've added some beef up there."

Receivers: Gone is leading receiver Kevin Gabehart, but Alec Smith returns, having caught 11 passes for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns last year. Also returning is tight end Mitch Hibler, who grabbed 4 passes for 90 yards and a TD.

Linemen: In the few years prior to last, Onsen admittedly got spoiled with large bodies, such as current Northwestern offensive lineman Keegan Grant, plugging the gaps. This season, expect a lot of rotation in the front four.

"We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things on the D-line," he said. "It took a while last year, but I finally realized we could succeed without having two huge tackles in there."

Linebackers: Tiger Onsen returns in the middle, where he led the team with 92 tackles last season. Also returning at one of the linebacker spots is Nate Carpenter, and he may also see some time at defensive end.

Secondary: Anthony Hakey is the returning starter in the defensive backfield, and he will man one of the cornerback positions.

"I like to have at least one guy returning in each of the subdivisions of the defense," Onsen said. "Anthony's our guy in the secondary, so we'll be leaning a lot on him."

The kicking game has been a hidden treasure in the Coal City system for a long time, and Tom Taylor returns as the punter this season. Junior David Druse will handle placekicking duties.

"We've always had good kickers," Onsen said. "All the way back to guys like Rob Rogers and John Gockman. It's nice to know we have the potential to get points without necessarily scoring a touchdown."

The Interstate Eight is one of the best conferences of its size in the state, and the schedule, while rough, does have one break for Coal City. The Coalers don't play Wilmington, which has a wealth of talent returning as well. Still, Onsen misses the neighborhood rivalry.

"That's always a fun game with them," he said. "It would be real fun to match up with them this year, since they have a lot back, too. But that's the way the schedule is. In this conference, we'll have enough to worry about, believe me."