BANGOR – The Bangor High School football roster featured considerable star power during the last three years.

Edwards, Walton, Vanidestine, McDade and Weston were the dominant names and personalities of the time.

But those same names will be dotting college rosters in various sports during the coming months, meaning there’s a changing of the guards – and tackles and virtually every other position – for the denizens of Cameron Stadium this fall.

“It was their team for three years,” said Tyler Pembroke, a senior wide receiver and free safety. “Now it’s our time to step it up. It’s our team now, so we’ve got to go out and show something.”

Just three starters return for coach Mark Hackett’s club, which went 8-2 last fall and advanced to the Eastern Maine Class A final before falling to Lawrence of Fairfield.

And those few veterans appreciate all they have learned from their former teammates.

“Maybe we’re not expected to amount to as much as last year,” said senior Jory Tracy, a returning two-way starter on the line of scrimmage. “We have three returning starters from last year, but last year there were a lot of seniors there to help us improve just by playing look team going against them every day. Just being with those guys helped us quite a bit.”

But Tracy and Co. also know the 2008 season will provide plenty of opportunities for some new stars to emerge.

“These kids want to play football,” said Hackett, now in his eighth season as Bangor’s head coach. “They’re not real physical yet because they’re fighting for their lives, they’re trying to learn and they’re exhausted.

“But with a little luck and hard work, if things go our way, the ceiling could be really high.”

With the transition in personnel has come a change in offense, from the wing-T utilized last fall back to the I-formation.

That attack will be guided by promising 6-foot-51/2-inch sophomore quarterback Joe Seccareccia, who moves up from the freshman team.

“The quarterback throws a nice ball,” said Hackett. “He’s tall so he can see and he’s motivated, he has aspirations to go on and play. He’s young, though, so we’ll see how he handles adversity.”

Senior Adam Billings steps in as the primary tailback after serving in a complementary role a year ago. Junior Lonnie Hackett, the team’s fastest player, also will play tailback, while junior Brian Higgins has shifted from quarterback to fullback.

Hackett hopes Seccareccia’s passing ability will help balance Bangor’s traditional run-oriented attack, and he believes the Rams boast a talented receiving corps led by Pembroke, junior flanker Nate Henigan and sophomore tight end Josiah Hartley.

“If you’re going to win the last game, you have to be able to throw the ball,” said Hackett. “I don’t know if it’s 20 times a game, but you certainly have to be able to throw if you need to. You can’t be surprised if you have to throw the ball.”

Tracy is the lone returning starter on the line. He’ll play left guard on offense and be joined by four juniors: tackles Tom Augustine and Andrew Logan, center Joey Quinn and right guard Anthony Sullivan.

“We have a new offense, and the kids we do have are learning really fast,” said Billings. “Once they have all the plays in the back of their heads, they won’t have to think about the play any more and they can just start hitting and we’ll be pretty good.”

The defense will be anchored by senior linebacker Steven Seccareccia, Joe’s older brother and a returning starter who brings considerable intensity to his job.

“I hate losing, and I hate losing in the playoffs, especially in the Eastern Maine championship game,” he said. “We want to show everyone that we’re not just a team returning three starters, we’re a team that’s going to show some people this year.”

Junior Scott Farnham also is expected to see linebacker duty behind a defensive front featuring Tracy, Augustine and Logan in the interior line and Billings and senior John Templeton at end.

Joe Seccareccia and senior Darren Casey-Covell are penciled in at cornerback, with Pembroke and junior Nate Lewis at safety.

Senior Kyle Lawson inherits the place-kicking duties, while Henigan is the punter.

“I think this group’s very good together,” said Hackett. “I’m happy with their energy, and I’m happy with their conditioning.

“If we do our job as coaches, this is going to be a real good football team.”

Hackett expects there to be plenty of competition within the Pine Tree Conference Class A ranks this fall. Chief among that competition is a Lawrence team that has won five straight against Bangor and is the only team to defeat the Rams during the last two years.

“We know the Blue team’s down the road,” he said. “That’s the one we know about, though there will be other teams out there.

“We just have to constantly try to be more physical. We’re skilled enough.”

BANGOR RAMS

2007 results: 8-2, Eastern Maine Class A finalist

Head coach: Mark Hackett, 8th year

Key players: Adam Billings, Sr., TB-DE; Tyler Pembroke, Sr., WR-FS; Steven Seccareccia, Sr., FB-LB; Jory Tracy, Sr., OG-DT; Joe Seccareccia, Soph., QB-CB; Joe Quinn, Jr., C-DE; Tom Augustine, Jr.; OT-DT; Andrew Logan, Jr., OT-DT; Lonnie Hackett, Jr., RB-DB

Outlook: Despite heavy graduation losses, there’s plenty of talent on hand as the Rams seek to end Lawrence of Fairfield’s two-year stranglehold on the Eastern A title. Rangy Joe Seccareccia already is considered a college prospect even though he has yet to throw his first varsity pass, and Bangor’s ability to balance its offense with the pass and run may prove pivotal to success against the PTC’s stouter defenses. This team should be much better in November than it is in September.