TOWER CITY - A year ago, Williams Valley had a new quarterback in Stephen Sedesse, a new feature back in Cole Barnhardt and a new spread offense.
The Vikings flourished as Sedesse and Barnhardt had breakout years. Sedesse completed 101-of-193 passes for 1,776 yards and 25 touchdowns, while Barnhardt rushed for 1,650 yards and 22 TDs on 222 carries.
The pair, along with senior fullback Trevor Whelski (74-486, 5 TDs), are back for their senior seasons. So is the Vikes' multiple-pro offense.
But all five starters on the Vikings' offensive line, including Tri-Valley League Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year J.R. Rummel, are gone. All of them.
The big concern entering this season is finding the right combination of linemen from seven candidates and getting them to gel. Still, the Vikings aren't lowering their expectations one bit after a season in which they went 12-1 and won the Tri-Valley League and District 11 Class A titles.
"I think we can make another run like we had last year as long as the line comes together because we have the skill guys to do it," Sedesse said. "Anything less than last year is going to be a disappointment to us."
The new offensive line will come from a group that includes senior Beau Yoder (tackle-guard); juniors Tim Carl (guard), Albert Wolfgang (guard) and Yuuki Sasaki (center-guard); sophomore Landon Bordner (tackle); and freshmen Daymian Shoop (tackle) and Ian Minnich (all three positions). Yoder is the only one to see important varsity time in 2012. Minnich (5-foot-7, 228 pounds) is the biggest of the group.
Vikings coach Tim Savage, The Republican-Herald and Tri-Valley League Coach of the Year in 2012, expects struggles early, but he also believes his line's greatest strength - at least in the beginning - will be the skill guys behind them, giving them time to develop.
"(Our skill guys) operate in smaller spaces than a lot of other skills guys," Savage said. "That will be their saving grace early on. As the season goes on and they gel together and develop a linemen brotherhood and learn what the others are doing, then I believe they will be much more cohesive and will be all right.
"We will be a lot of influence blocking, stretch-zone blocking. We are not going to be very good at just lining up and going right at you. We don't have much height, weight or strength. We might run 65 plays and only eight of them are good, but we can still win the game."
Both Barnhardt and Sedesse feel a little bit of extra pressure this season.
Barnhardt was somewhat surprised with what he accomplished in 2012. He believes he now knows what it takes to be a great running back and worked on all aspects of his game this summer.
"Once we get the hang of it, it will be a lot easier and then the pressure will go off," Barnhardt said. "I am confi-
dent in the line that we have now, and I think we have the ability to be better than last year. After we get the game flow going, it will turn out to be good."
Sedesse attended various camps this summer, focusing on quickening his release and improving his speed and footwork.
"I am going to be rolling out more, so I have the opportunity to run or throw or get away from the pressure," Sedesse said.
"When they make a good block, we have to make a play. We can't mess it up."
The line isn't the only big loss for Williams Valley.
Also gone is Owen Daniel, who moved from tailback to receiver in 2012. The Republican-Herald Co-Player and TVL Offensive Player of the Year, Daniel ended up with 48 catches for 1,041 yards and 16 TDs. He also rushed for 339 yards on 26 carries.
The Vikings also lost receiver Brendan Miller (21-for-386, 5 TDs), who is not playing this fall.
Replacing that production will be spread out among senior Steve Vega, junior Cody Miller, sophomore Garrett Zimmerman and freshman Ryan Harris. Also in the mix is senior Tim Schorr at tight eight. Savage expects to Schorr to become a bigger part of the passing game this fall.
Perhaps lost in the performance of the offense last fall were the numbers posted by the defense. The Vikings allowed just 107 points (8.2 per game) and recorded seven shutouts.
Williams Valley returns eight players on defense who saw time last year. The strength of the unit is the linebacker corps of Whelski (144 tackles last season), Barnhardt, Schorr (112 tackles) and Wolfgang. Whelski is expected to break the school record for career tackles of 389 currently held by Josh Rodichok (2002-05) at some point this year.
Yoder (119 tackles, 4.5 sacks) returns on the defensive line.
The Vikings set the bar high for themselves after what they accomplished in 2012. For Savage, settling for anything less this fall is not acceptable.
"What the season did is that it raised the expectations to where it is my job to remind these guys: Was it all about the five linemen and Owen or are you guys a part of this team?" Savage said. "You inherent this 2013 season and to instill fear that losing hurts for a long, long time, not just until the next week.
"I want it to be a part of the program to where you just don't lose and don't expect to lose. Just be confident and believe the more confident you are the better your play is on Friday nights. I feel we are right there. We will get these linemen up to par."