Lansdowne is hoping that excellent team chemistry and a new spread offense can help the Vikings varsity football program rid itself of the memory of last year's 0-10 campaign.
"Last year, we had the athletic talent and the kids were focused," Lansdowne third-year coach Shaun Murphy said. "For some reason, they just didn't fit that well together. But this year, we have jelled. That is huge for us. The players all hang out together. They are friends on and off the field."
Now that the I-formation has been jettisoned, the offense will have more flexibility.
"The big reason is so that teams don't keep stacking the box on us," Murphy said. "So many teams were able to blitz a ton and put a five-man defensive front against us. It really crippled our running game. With the ability to throw the ball more, teams shouldn't just view us as one dimensional this year."
Lansdowne used Antoine Jones, the 2016 Arbutus Times male Athlete of the Year, and Camerson McCarthy, under center last year, taking advantage of their different styles.
But both quarterbacks graduated, leaving sophomore Marcus Sessoms (6-feet-3, 175 pounds) to take over as the starter after being promoted from last year's JV.
Sessoms is a mobile quarterback with a strong arm who Murphy calls an electrifying player.
"He had an amazing season last year as the JV quarterback," the coach said. "I believe it was the first time in 10 years the JV had a winning record, and he was a big reason for that. He has a cannon for an arm and is very athletic. He has a great presence on the field and shown tremendous leadership for a sophomore."
Lansdowne offensive coordinator Joseph Chambers agrees.
"He is very disciplined, very coachable and works very hard," he said. "Those are three big things that make a good football player."
A productive running game — led by senior Wuayne Rogers (5-7, 160) and junior Phebous Floyd (5-10, 190) — should take some pressure off of Sessoms.
The offensive line features senior tackle Thomas Weedon (6-3, 210), junior tackle Jordan Myrick (6-2, 220), senior center Andrew Tayman (5-9, 250) and junior guards Keonte Burton (5-10, 210) and James Rahim (6-2, 240).
Weedon is the linchpin of the line.
"Thomas is an unstoppable force at right tackle," Murphy said. "He was blocking two and three guys last year with teams blitzing us all the time."
Seniors Keith Brown (5-11, 170) and Kyle Umstead (5-7, 170) and juniors Greg Scarborough (6-0, 160) and Chin Farmer (5-11, 175) give the Vikings plenty of speed at wide receiver.
After giving up a whopping 355 points last year on defense, Murphy can summarize what's he's looking for in one word: Improvement.
Murphy believes it will come quickly under new defensive coordinator Brian Brown, who comes to the school after working the last four years as the defensive coach at Annapolis Area Christian School.
Brown will use a 4-4 scheme.
"I think he will do big things with the defense," Murphy said.
Burton, Weedon, Myrick and senior Jacob Beck (5-9, 220) form the defensive line.
Murphy is expecting a lot of big plays from the linebacking corps of sophomore Filipie Mendez (5-10, 165), Floyd and seniors Tyler Ellis (5-11, 190) and Seth Hughes (5-11, 160).
"The strength of the defense is the linebackers," Murphy said. "They are athletic, fast and they are big hitters."
Scarborough, a cornerback, senior safety Donte White (6-2, 180) and Da'Raune Vanterpool (5-11, 170) head up the secondary.