HAMPDEN – As the yard lines were being painted on Hampden Academy’s new artificial-turf football field, the players were walking in the other direction, relieved that a week of triple sessions was at its end.

Relieved, but excited, too, given that many believe the new field is symbolic of a reversal of the Broncos’ football fortunes entering the 2003 season.

“You look at that field, and it’s new like everything else,” said senior captain Ramsey Lafayette, an offensive guard and defensive end. “It’s a new start for Hampden football. The coaches are different, the players are different, and having that field is a huge plus.”

Second-year head coach John Sparacio agrees having the FieldTurf facility is a huge boost to his program – as well as the other HA teams that will use it – but adds that execution on the field ultimately will determine the Broncos’ fate.

“The parents and kids, everyone sees it as really positive and exciting,” Sparacio said. “But at the same time you have to remind them the field doesn’t win you football games. You have to work hard, and everyone understands it. But having the new field here and being one of the few places north of Portland to have a facility like this, everyone’s pretty excited.”

That enthusiasm also extends to the prospects on the field. Sparacio and assistant coaches Jim Van Uden, Dennis Whitney, Peter Enman, and Bill Harris have had a year to install an option offense and an attacking defense, and the large cast of returning players – only three starters graduated from the 2002 team – are more comfortable with the new system.

“We’re a long way ahead of last year,” said senior captain John Higgins, a running back and defensive back. “Last year we had a lot of sophomores and juniors starting. This year we’re starting juniors and seniors.”

The next step in elevating the program from its back-to-back 2-7 seasons, Sparacio said, is to incorporate an influx of speed players at the skill positions in order to complete the transition from a power football team to one featuring both speed and strength.

“This used to be a smash-mouth program, because we didn’t have the skill-position players to use at positions like wide receiver,” he said. “Now we’re loaded with them, and we can go both ways with that speed. We want to use that speed on offense, and we want to be able to blitz better than we did last year.”

The Broncos have a 76-player roster, up seven players from a year ago and nearly 20 players from the 2001 season.

“The numbers are good,” Sparacio said. “The other thing about it is we’re getting a lot of good athletes coming out, some of them for the first time.”

In that regard, Sparacio sees some comparison between the 2003 Broncos and the 1998 team that won the Eastern Maine Class B championship.

“We’re not used to a lot of speed here,” he said. “The 1998 team was an exception. We had three backs [Ben Preston, Jordan Marden, and Vince Bennett] then who were unbelievable. Now we’re at that point again where we have more speed, and we have to take advantage of that outside game while we can with the kids who are coming through.”

Matching the 1998 team’s success this fall may be difficult, but everything from the new field to a new attitude suggests the Broncos are poised for a run of upward mobility within their new conference, the Pine Tree Conference Class B.

“Last year we weren’t too sure, but this year is a big transition for us and we’re looking to get in the playoffs,” said Higgins. “We have a lot more experience, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

HAMPDEN ACADEMY BRONCOS

2002 results: 2-7, 7th in LTC B

Head coach: John Sparacio, 2nd year

Key players: Jason Cross, OT-NG, Sr.; John Higgins, RB-DE, Sr.; Ramsey Lafayette, OG-DE, Sr.; Andrew Richardson, QB, Sr.; Trainor Kapler, RB-DB, Jr.; Brad Simms, RB-LB, Sr.; Drew Chase, C-DT, So.; Brendon Murphy, TE-LB, Sr.

Outlook: A favorable early-season schedule offers Hampden the chance to build momentum and contend for an LTC Class B playoff berth. After experiencing their third new system in as many years last fall, the Broncos are feeling a sense of stability in their second season under Sparacio’s watch.