Skowhegan football players work through a drill during an Aug. 17 practice. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

A year away from the real thing has given Pine Tree Conference coaches less of an idea of what to expect from teams — both their own and their opponents — than they would normally have.

Amidst all the uncertainty, however, comes a consistent theme: Don’t expect the balance of power to shift too much.

Skowhegan and Lawrence have depth and experience. Windham is strong. Cony and Brunswick have strong senior classes, and Mt. Blue has the pieces on offense and defense to remain the contender it was in 2019.

“With last year off, I think it’s such a wild card,” Skowhegan coach Ryan Libby said. “You just don’t know what’s going to jell for other teams. But we just have historically strong programs.”

“The way I look at it, it’s still Brunswick until somebody knocks them off,” Mt. Blue coach Scott Franzose added. “You’ve got to look at Lawrence, Skowhegan obviously. … I think those are the top three teams that we’re looking at. And then you get to maybe the Conys, the Mt. Blues, how are we going to develop?”

Libby said Skowhegan — which reached the B North semifinals the last two years, was in the state championship game in 2017 and had 65 kids turn out for the team — has the roster for a good season.

“I’m definitely putting some high expectations on us to be at the top of that list,” he said.

The River Hawks will have some key pieces back in the fold. Juniors Joe Linkletter, Quintcey McCray and Kaden Salley started as freshmen at linebacker, cornerback and defensive line, respectively. Linkletter and McCray will be go-to players on offense at running back and receiver. Senior Marcus Hampton will be another target for the new quarterback, junior Adam Savage.

“I expect the defense to be strong, especially with the amount of returning starters there,” Libby said. “Offensively, I don’t know yet. I feel really good about the number of athletes we have, and I think it might be week to week who ends up shining that Friday night.”

Cony quarterback James Presti looks down the field for a receiver during an Aug. 19 practice in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Lawrence had nearly 60 players come out, and a team that has made three straight PTC B North title games expects to again be near the top of the standings. A key part of the Bulldogs’ strength is on the offensive line, where center Cameron Littlefield and tackles and guards Jake Hutchins, Josh Hutchins, Toby Sullivan and Storer Boyden will be part of the wall in front of new quarterback Andrew Trombley.

Coach John Hersom said the skill positions will need some time to sort themselves out.

“We don’t have a lot of depth with our older guys, as far as the skill kids go,” he said. “It’ll be hopefully working itself out with some of the younger guys in the next couple of weeks.”

On defense, which returns starting linebacker Matthew Trombley, Hersom said the Bulldogs will work towards having a strong 4-4 front.

“We definitely want to control the run game,” he said. “We don’t blitz a lot, but it’s not really read-and-react either. It’s being responsible for what your role is on defense, and fulfilling your role.”

Cony will have a new quarterback in James Presti and skilled receivers in Aidan Coulombe and Ashton Dennett, but the offensive line will be entirely new starters and the backfield is unproven. On defense, end Casey Mills returns as one of the conference’s top players, but while the Rams should have plenty of athleticism, there are still plenty of unknowns.

“The defense should have some pretty good speed,” coach B.L. Lippert said. “We’ve got a couple of guys up front that are really stout and hard to move. We’ve just got to find the right mix of kids, whether you’re an outside backer or an inside backer, free safety, strong safety. We’ve got to figure out the personnel, but I think we’ve got some kids that can run to the football.”

Skowhegan football players compete during an Aug. 17 practice in Skowhegan. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Mt. Blue was last seen reaching the B North semifinals two years ago, and Franzose likes the Cougars’ chances of being a tough matchup again as they go into their second season of running his spread offense and attacking defense.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be (full) platoon, but we’re getting closer to maybe a half platoon, where I think some of these guys are going to play on (just) the offensive side,” he said. “We have so many committed athletes, we’re really excited that we can see maybe four or five of them only playing one side. That’s good for depth, that’s good for getting more guys into the rotation.”

The Cougars have a strong junior class, and are deep at receiver with Evans Sterling, Isaac Wrigley, Chase Ranger and Brody Walsh providing good targets for quarterback candidates Klay Dunning and Jayden Meader.

“At receiver, I could probably spend five minutes talking about it. We’re very deep,” Franzose said. “I really like our young group of juniors and sophomores.”

Messalonskee went winless in 2018 and ’19 while building the program back up, and coach Walter Polky is hoping that trial-by-fire that some of the younger players endured will pay off in the form of experience this season.

“We have a lot of really good skill players, and we have a good blend of players,” Polky said. “(The) 7-on-7 really helped the skill guys.”

The Eagles get back starters on both sides of the ball, most notably junior running back Bryce Crowell and senior quarterback Brady Doucette.

“(Doucette) is very smart, and he’s very level-headed,” Polky said. “Every competition he’s played in, he’s gotten better and better and better.”