BUCKSPORT – When you win a state championship you’re going to have a big target on your chest.

That’s an obstacle the Bucksport High football team will face this fall.

But the Golden Bucks have a storied history, and 11th-year head coach Joel Sankey knows what it takes to get back to the postseason.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs then go from there,” he said. “At Bucksport, expectations are always high. The last five years we’ve been in the Eastern Maine playoffs.”

Bucksport has been to two state title games in that stretch, beating Jay last year and losing to Boothbay in 2001.

With any state championship team, a team needs great coaching, and Sankey gave his assistants a lot of credit.

“[Defensive coordinator] Wayne Richards’ defensive game plan against Jay was amazing,” he said. “We have a really good staff, we’ve been together for a long time.”

Adrian Stone coaches the Bucks’ lineman, David Keene heads up the offense and Sean Geagan and Dale Tozier, who coach the eighth-grade team in Bucksport, help out as well.

The Bucks lost one of the state’s top backfields in Nick Tymozcko and John Harvey, both to graduation, but most of Bucksport’s lines are back.

“Our offensive line is pretty intact, pretty good, we just have to wait and see what defenses give us,” Sankey said. “We’ve got some good team speed, too.”

That’s a good thing, considering the Bucks pass probably more than any team in the LTC, meaning that offensive linemen Cody Wilson, Chad Cottrell and Chris Gray, all seniors, will anchor a line that will try to protect senior quarterback Chris Maguire.

“He’s a good competitor, a good leader, a good all-around high school athlete,” Sankey said of Maguire.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bucks will employ multiple fronts, using four, five or even six down lineman. Sankey’s secondary is young, but athletic.

“One thing about our defense is that we’ve always been aggressive, by going for picks and putting pressure on people,” he said.

Sankey expects the LTC to be even more wide open than it has in the past, with Rockland now eligible for postseason play.

“The talk in the league is Mattanawcook [of Lincoln], Orono will be in there, Foxcroft is tough, well coached by [Paul Withee],” he said. “Don’t be surprised about Rockland, they could be very good.”

Right off the bat, the Bucks will face a daunting challenge, as they will head to Jay to face the Tigers in a rematch of the 2004 state title game.

BUCKSPORT GOLDEN BUCKS

2004 Results: 12-0, Class C State Champions

Head Coach: Joel Sankey, 11th year

Key players: Cody Wilson, G-DT, Sr.; Chad Cotrell, OT-DT, Sr.; Chris Gray, G-DT, Sr.; Devin Eaton, WR-TE-DE, Sr.; Joe Robicheau, DB-RB, Sr.; Chris Maguire, QB-DB, Sr.; Matt Gray, LB-FB, Jr., Matt Allison, FB-LB, Sr.

Outlook: The defending Class C state champs have a strong senior class in 2005. Maguire will be a factor in a strong passing game. The Bucks will endure a tough schedule in LTC Class C, and will open the season on the road at Jay, a rematch of last year’s state- title game.