FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - North Schuylkill has traditionally leaned heavily upon a feature back on offense.
Last season, the Spartans were fortunate to have two such players in Ethan Motsney (1,418 yards) and Matt Gownley (1,020 yards).
That duo has taken their 2,438 combined yards with them to college.
As tough of a loss as that may be for a football team to absorb, new head coach Wally Hall is OK with it.
"In the past here at North Schuylkill, they primarily had feature backs," Hall said. "Those feature backs were individuals that they tried to get the ball to more often during the game."
The past is finished.
Hall brings to North Schuylkill his flexbone offense, the design of which puts the ball into multiple players' hands throughout the course of a game.
"My offense - the flexbone, no-huddle offense - the ball gets distributed a little bit everywhere," Hall said. "That depends on what the defense is obviously doing. We try to distribute the ball to all of our backs, all of our skill players, try to get them in space. Then from there throw the football."
That offense starts with senior Matt Smarkanic and sophomore Bobby Grigas at quarterback.
Both athletes saw time at the position last season with Grigas taking over the starting role about midway through the season, and Smarkanic moving to fullback.
Smarkanic will also take his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame to fullback again this season, and the versatility makes that flexbone even more dangerous.
"Bobby's more of a quarterback, where Matt's a little more versatile," Hall said. "He could play a quarterback position and play at the fullback position right behind the center and the quarterback.
"Bobby can run the football and he can also throw the football well.
"Matt's more of a runner."
While it's nice to have that kind of ability at quarterback, North Schuylkill has plenty of options to whom to hand the ball.
Others that promise to carry the offensive payload include senior fullbacks Tom Gallagher and Cody Moore as well as freshman Major Jordan. The A-backs include senior Glenn Weist, junior John Rupinski and sophomores Pat Gownley and Jordan Marlow.
While at Mahanoy Area, Hall was able to rely heavily on Michael Gaval running that flexbone offense and running it productively. The Golden Bears rarely, by today's standards, threw the rock.
"The situation here's a little bit different," Hall said. "We have quarterbacks that could throw the football, and we have some nice skills out on the perimeter."
Some of those options for either quarterback to whom to throw on the perimeter include senior tight end Derrick Reese and receivers juniors Ryan Hillbish and Ryan Mazeika and sophomores Tevin Murray and Joe Nahas.
Perhaps the biggest strength of the Spartans is their offensive line, which returns four athletes that started or gained significant playing time in 2012.
Even better news for Hall and Co. - all five projected starters will return next season.
Juniors Nate Gadinski and Jordan Dziczek are slated to man the tackle positions, junior Paul Dean and sophomore C.J. Steinhilber project as the guards and junior Brett Budwash is penciled in at center.
"Having returners back is very important. We're not only counting on our returners, we're counting on everybody in the program," Hall said. "That's one of our biggest approaches, and we're being very clear on that message: 'You're only as good as your next guy.' We want everybody to learn just as much as everyone else.
"Having those four back, their game experience is more abundant than others. That certainly helps. With everybody else, there's a teaching curve to that."
Others that could see time on the offensive line are juniors Tyler Briel and Keanu Dziczek and sophomore Ryan Mesarick.
Defensively, North Schuylkill's numbers slipped a bit last season after three stellar seasons of limiting opponents to only about a touchdown per contest.
The Spartans still finished near the top of the pack statistically in the area, surrendering just 133.9 rushing yards per game. However, the pass defense allowed 131.7 yards per outing.
Another year of experience and the ability to two-platoon athletes will help keep that defense fresh both during games and throughout the season.
Many of the names defensively are the same, but Hall and his staff will have the ability to substitute freely, especially on the front of the Spartans' 4-4 defense.
Moore and Reese will play defensive end, with Dean and Gadinski inside at tackles.
The linebackers include senior Garet Grove, Gallagher, Jordan and Smarkanic. Grigas and Weist will man the corners, while Marlow is slated to play safety.
"It's certainly a lot of advantage, especially as the game goes on and the season goes on," Hall said. "We're getting more people out on the field. People are getting breaks.
"Just in the same respect of getting people on, everybody's ready to go at a position - offense, defense. We talk about offense and defense, but a huge thing that we're emphasizing is where you play on special teams and how important they are."