BUCKSPORT – The folks here are used to seeing postseason high school football come late October and early November.

At the end of last season, the Bucksport Golden Bucks got hot at the right time and were in prime position to slip into the playoffs and possibly do some damage.

However, a three-way tie and a coin flip left the Bucks on the outside looking in, and the scary thing for the teams in the LTC is coach Joel Sankey’s club is starving to get back to the promised land.

“I think for most of these kids here, [that] left a real sour taste in their mouths … to miss it with the flip of a coin,” the 14th-year head coach said.

He added that it had been at least 10 years since Bucksport had missed out on postseason play.

So, the 45 players Sankey has in preseason camp are out to change their fortunes.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm, they’ve worked hard all summer, we’re much stronger than we were last year,” Sankey said. “We’re looking forward to the start of the season.”

That fact was evident throughout the offseason.

“We went back to what we used to with the bigger, faster, stronger program,” said Sankey. “The summer turnout in the weight room was very high. We have eight kids that can squat over 400 pounds.”

As always, the Bucks will feature a great amount of quickness at the skill positions, mainly from senior Nate Warren at the tailback position, who showcased his speed in the track and field ranks last spring.

“The league better get used to seeing him, they’re going to see a lot of him,” said Sankey.

Classmate Andrew Ginley and junior Bobby Alvarado will spell Warren in the Bucks’ backfield, with senior offensive linemen C.J. Breidt, Robbie Winters and Robbie McGuire looking to clear holes.

Warren, Ginley and Alvarado will comprise a three-headed backfield monster in an offense designed to wear down opposing defenses while mixing things up at the same time.

“We use a different number of offensive sets, do play action, that sort of stuff,” said Sankey.

The competition at quarterback between Kyle McGeechum, a senior, and Sammy Carmichael, a junior, is heating up in camp.

“It depends on who has the hot hand … they’re both good athletes,” Sankey said.

The Bucks, who were young last year, were plagued by inconsistency but generated some sound momentum at the end of the year, climaxing with a resounding win over Rockland, which got into the playoffs on the coin flip.

“They have a lot to prove to themselves, but we finished on a high note last year. We were very, very young last year,” said Sankey. “It’s a learning experience that these kids went through and hopefully it will carry over.”

The Bucks will showcase a formidable mix of strength and quickness on defense, with Winters, Ginley, Warren and McGuire heading up a strong corps of linebackers, Alvarado keying the secondary and Breidt leading the defensive front.

“We’re very quick up front, our linebackers are very strong and our secondary is very athletic,” Sankey said.

BUCKSPORT GOLDEN BUCKS

2007 results: 5-4, 5th in LTC

Head Coach: Joel Sankey, 14th year

Key Players: Nate Warren, TB-OLB, Sr.; C.J. Breidt, OL-DL, Sr.; Robbie Winters, G-LB, Sr.; Andrew Finley, RB-LB, Sr.; Robbie McGuire, G-LB, Jr.; Cam Wentworth, WR-DB, Sr.; Bobby Alvarado, RB-RB, Jr.

Outlook: After barely missing out on the playoffs last season with a young team, the Golden Bucks should be right in the thick of things in the LTC ranks this fall. Warren has the ability to turn on the jets at any moment, as he was the Class C state champion in the 100-meter dash last spring. Look for the Bucks to mix things up on offense while controlling the clock