Winslow High School quarterbacks and running backs work through a drill during an Aug. 18 practice at Winslow High School. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

For 35 seasons under coach Mike Siviski, the Winslow football team had been one of the state’s steadiest programs, and an annual Class C power.

Starting with his first season in 1985, the Black Raiders’ run with Siviski had included over 250 wins, seven state championships and 11 regional titles. There were shock waves throughout the state when he announced his retirement before the 2020 season, and with a record like that, it’s no wonder Siviski’s name still gets brought up at the Winslow practices.

“It’s definitely going to be a heck of a lot different without Mike Siviski around, I can tell you that,” said Wes Littlefield, a co-coach alongside Pete Bolduc. “We’re going to try to follow in his footsteps and keep this program at its highest level.”

Siviski’s departure makes for a new era in Class C North, but the new day could look like the old one. Coaches around the league expect Winslow to remain solid. Maine Central Institute is expected to still be the steadfast contender. Hermon and Medomak Valley could still be strong, and Belfast, after a difficult stretch in 2017 and ’18, should show again it isn’t a team to take lightly.

“I honestly think it’s kind of wide open,” MCI coach Tom Bertrand said. “I don’t think you can ever count Winslow out (and) I know Hermon’s been on the up surge and they should be tough, Belfast looked really good this summer. We should be competitive. I haven’t seen much of Nokomis, but they’re up and coming.

“I think the tradition that you see from some of these programs, and hopefully we’re one of them, amounts to something and accounts for something.”

Meanwhile, on the southern side, Gardiner returns after a season in B to Class C, where in two previous years it made the regional semifinals each time. The Tigers won’t have it easy, however; Leavitt, Wells, Cape Elizabeth, York and Fryeburg Academy make for a deep, balanced field.

Gardiner quarterback Wyatt Chadwick takes the snap during an Aug. 19 practice in Gardiner. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

“You’re going from a team like York and Cape that’s throwing the ball all over the place, to a team like Wells that’s going to pound it, to a team like Leavitt that spreads it out and then wants to run the ball,” Gardiner coach Pat Munzing said. “It’s going to be interesting to see where everything kind of shakes out, but I think we give ourselves a shot at the playoffs and to try to make a run at the Gold Ball again this year.”

Junior Wyatt Chadwick takes over as the Tigers’ quarterback, while junior Colton Dube and seniors Owen Pushard and Dillon Baker will provide a strong stable at running back. Senior Gage Poore and junior Trevor Marks will be the top pillars on the line.

“I think our identity, both offensively and defensively, is going to be tempo,” Munzing said. “We plan to be an aggressive, attack-style team, on both sides of the ball.”

As they try to steer Winslow back to the heights to which the program has become accustomed, Littlefield and Bolduc said they’re still trying to get a sense for how the mix all fits together. Still, with running back Evan Bourget, linebacker Jack Dorval and tight end and defensive end Tyler Brockway, the Black Raiders have a good starting point.

“We really don’t know. We have 10 offensive linemen rotating right now,” Bolduc said after a first-week practice. “We have six backs. We don’t know who’s going to start.”

Littlefield pointed out that the team is young, and Bolduc said that last year’s lost season forces the players to get caught up.

“(Missing 2020) has upped the learning curve, because you look at this group that’s sophomores really played flag football last year, and the group that’s (freshmen) hasn’t played since they were in seventh grade,” Bolduc said. “And your seniors, who you look to for the majority of the experience, were sophomores last time we played. Rather than teaching one, you’re teaching two, almost three classes.”

At MCI, a strong junior class and good size and depth up front are fueling hope that the Huskies will be a team to beat once again. Senior lineman Bryce Bussell will be the team’s anchor, and receivers Max Bottenfield and Braydon Fitts, running back Braeden Kennedy, lineman Drew Steeves and quarterback Kyle Hall are among the standouts of that junior class.

On defense, Bertrand said he likes the balance both in the Huskies’ ability to stop the run and cover the pass.

A Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale football player is wrapped up by Nokomis defenders during an Aug. 23 scrimmage in Winthrop. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

“We’re going to be playing some sophomores and some other juniors that have to earn their stripes a little bit,” Bertrand said, “but we’ve got a core group of guys that are ready to play.”

Nokomis is looking to return to the rank of contenders after an 0-8 rebuilding season in 2019. The Warriors are still young, and with the pandemic taking away a season to learn, Jake Rogers said he’s had to be a teacher as well as a coach.

“It literally feels like I just got the job all over again,” he said. “They don’t know how we do things, outside of a couple of the older kids that got all the reps as freshmen two years ago. We’re starting from ground zero again. It’s a process.”

The Warriors have some pieces to build on, however. Grady Hartsgrove is back at quarterback after starting behind center as a freshman, while running back A.J. Leali and lineman Ryan McAtee are senior standouts and receivers Madden White and Aaron Mooers are solid juniors.

“These kids, they got beat up, they got bullied around as freshmen,” Rogers said. “I’m hoping these young skill guys remember that feeling of getting pushed around a bit, and they start paying it back.”