The 2006 preseason started out with a good news-bad news scenario for Madison High School head football coach Joe Hayden.

The good news is the cupboard wasn’t completely bare, as has been the case more than once the last few seasons, with six starters back. The bad news is there are only 13 other players on the entire team, not including freshmen.

Last year, depth was a big concern with only 23 players on the squad. This season, depth is THE concern, especially with more underclassmen on the roster and only three seniors.

“Experience is a weakness and with our numbers, we’ve spent a good deal of time on conditioning because a lot of these guys will be putting in a lot of minutes,” Hayden said. “We also go through a lot of fundamental stuff over and over and over again to get it down pat.”

Good thing the Bulldogs have several players who are very versatile.

Senior captain Ryan Carpenter epitomizes Madison’s emphasis on versatility as he will see plenty of time at tight end, split end, fullback, free safety and strong safety… And that could just be for starters.

“He’s a very intelligent player. Even as a junior, it was like having a coach on the field,” said Hayden. “Offensively, he picks up on blitzes and realigns our formations, if needed.”

The other big leaders are fellow senior captains Garick Brown (center and defensive tackle) and Russell Berry (fullback and linebacker). Berry is back after transferring to Penquis High School in Milo two years ago.

The future bodes well with 19 freshman out for football, but Hayden must keep them in the system and not let this year’s players get frustrated by early season growing pains, which look almost unavoidable with so many young, inexperienced players.

“Depth is a worry and obviously our biggest weakness. I mean, these kids don’t come off the field,” Hayden said. “We had a practice one week with 14 kids. It makes it tough in terms of having any continuity.”

Madison has a mix of size and speed with players ranging from 250 pounds to 130.

The Bulldogs will stay with their base 50 (five-man front) defense and an option-based offense.

Jay and Livermore Falls appear to be two of the teams in the top tier of the conference this season, but Hayden isn’t counting his Bulldogs out the playoff mix just because of their youth.

“I’m thinking we need at least five wins for that,” Hayden said. “Going 4-5 last year, we were in every single ballgame and we played very physically. I think having several players back from that team could help us in terms of learning from our setbacks.”

MADISON BULLDOGS

2005 results: 4-5

Head coach: Joe Hayden, third season

Key players: Ryan Carpenter, TE-SE-FB-FS-SS, Sr.; Garick Brown, C-DT, Sr.; Russell Berry, FB-LB, Sr.; Matt Brown, QB-S, Jr.; Dustin Whipple, OT-MLB, Jr.; Nick Ellis, OT/G-DT/E, Jr.; George McLean, G-DE, Jr.

Outlook: The low numbers are a concern, but Hayden is optimistic things will change with the re-introduction of a junior league youth program. With so much versatility on the team, the ‘Dogs can customize their attack and defense to nullify other teams’ strengths, but they’ll need to stay healthy to do so. Otherwise, they’ll be trying to cover up their own weaknesses.