PITTSFIELD – It has nearly been a year since the Maine Central Institute football team has earned a victory, a 37-36 win over Stearns of Millinocket on Sept. 1, 2006.

It was a promising first game of the 2006 season, especially considering that the Huskies had to come from behind to win.

But after the inspiring win, MCI went on an eight-game slide in which the team was outscored 317-58.

Couple last year’s showing with the loss of a large senior class and things may seem tough for Huskies coach Tom Bertrand.

“There are personalities you lose and a void when it comes to leadership,” Bertrand said. “You wonder how to replace these. Many of our seniors were four-game starters.”

But despite these hurdles, Bertrand has high expectations for his team: place in the top four teams in the LTC and earn a spot in the Class C playoffs.

It may seem like an unrealistic goal, but the sixth-year coach of MCI believes he has a reason for optimism.

The Huskies’ scrimmage against Old Town in mid-August gave Bertrand a chance to see how his young team would react in a real game-time situation.

“I was happy with our effort,” Bertrand said. “We’ve still got a long way to go; we’re just so young. But we moved the ball around well, made few mental mistakes and we were as aggressive as we wanted to be.

“If we play smart, physical football, I think we have a chance to win a few games.”

For MCI to return to its 2005 form in which it went 4-5, the Huskies will have to rely on its trio of captains to leadership and support. Gone are eight starters from last year’s squad, including running backs Victor Quint and Rodney Jones. It was Quint who scored three times against Stearns: on a punt return, kickoff return and a reception.

But replacing those two in the backfield is junior Nick Miller, the person who caught Zach Dorion’s pass with under a minute to play to score the game-tying touchdown.

It will take a high level of play from Miller and his 32 teammates for MCI to stay competitive in the LTC.

“We definitely need to be more physical [this year],” Bertrand said. “We need to make more plays at the line of scrimmage on the defense and, on offense, we need to finish off drives.

“Our consistency of play needs to improve. We just can’t take a play off, because that’s what usually haunts us in the end.”

MCI HUSKIES

2006 results: 1-8, 0-1 LTC

Head coach: Tom Bertrand (6th year)

Key players: Nick Miller, RB-DB, Jr.; Steven Nadeau, OT-DE, Sr.; Jeff Morton, TE-LB, Sr.

Outlook: Coach Tom Bertrand has a goal of his team finishing in the top four in the conference, but understands that it is a difficult task give MCI’s tough schedule.