BAR HARBOR – A mass of football players stood in a hallway outside the Mount Desert Island High’s weight room, waiting to pick up their new jerseys on a recent afternoon. Mark Shields called for the players to come pick their new numbers. First, he called for the seniors.

No one moved. The Trojans head coach then called for the juniors, but the boys in the hall stood still.

Shields paused, then called for the sophomores. The room quickly filled with boys clamoring for jerseys.

There are 21 sophomores on this year’s MDI team, while there are three seniors and three juniors. The sophomores are coming off a freshman football season during which they went 6-1.

Come opening night there could be eight or nine sophomores starting on both sides of the ball.

“We are extremely, extremely young,” Shields said. “We’ll make young mistakes. The good news is I think in a couple of years, we’ll be competitive. We’ll take our lumps this year. We’re hoping to be competitive and see what can happen.”

MDI does have three-year starter Dale Beaudoin back at quarterback and two returning seniors, Peter McCann and Brandon Chase, on the line.

Shields said Beaudoin, who will also start at linebacker, has looked sharp so far.

Sophomore quarterback Sean Paradis, already nicknamed “Squirrel” because of his quick feet, could get playing time if Shields wants to give the opposition a different look.

“He has incredible foot speed,” Beaudoin said. “I see in him what I lacked as a sophomore. I could always throw, but I was slow and he’s incredibly fast.”

Fullback Patrick Murphy and tailback Tyler Murphy (no relation) will be the starters in the backfield. Vincent Poirier-Moore will start in the wingback slot.

“Patrick Murphy has good speed and Tyler had a real good freshman year and he’s been running strong this year,” Shields said. “Vincent is a tough kid and he does a lot of things right for a sophomore. … We’ve been real pleased.”

The offensive and defensive lines will be on the small side this year, averaging 6-foot and less than 200 pounds with sophomore center Andrew Leiser tipping the scales at 220. McCann and Chase make that group the most experienced of the team as a whole.

“We’re pretty small. We’ve got some speedy kids, so hopefully that’ll balance things out,” Chase said.

“We may not have the size but we know how to work together,” McCann added. “Even though they’re sophomores, they don’t think of themselves that way. What they lack in size they make up for in heart.”

The seniors know this year’s team is a rebuilding project – but they’re eager to see what they’ve wrought for the future.

“Our main goal is to pass our knowledge on to them so that they can win a gold ball,” Beaudoin said. “MDI’s never won a gold ball [in football] before. Hopefully they can make that happen.”

MDI TROJANS

2003 results: 1-7, eighth in PTC B

Head coach: Mark Shields, 2nd year

Key players: Dale Beaudoin, QB-LB, Sr.; Brandon Chase, OL-DE, Sr.; Peter McCann, OG-DT, Sr.; Colin Walton, WR-DB, So.; Sam Merrill, WR-S, Jr.; Sean Paradis, QB, So.; Patrick Murphy, FB, So.; Tyler Murphy, TB, So.; Vincent Poirier-Moore, WB-DB, So.; Andrew Leiser, C-LB, So.

Outlook: Not much on the field has changed for the Trojans, who will continue to play out of multiple offensive formations and a 5-2 defense. Shields said Matt Joy, who would have been the leading returning rusher from last year, did not come out for the team this year. In addition to all the sophomores on the team, there are 23 freshmen out for football this year.