NEWPORT – The Nokomis Warriors won their inaugural varsity football game last fall.

But the rest of their season was more typical of a first-year program.

“We had to start a lot of sophomores last year, and in Class B that just doesn’t cut it,” said Haggie Pratt, who takes over as the Warriors’ head coach from Dave Evans, who resigned after last season.

“We played a lot of sophomores last year, sometimes we started as many as seven sophomores.”

Pratt brings plenty of experience to the post, including two years as an assistant coach at Nokomis and 12 years as head coach at Dexter.

His role as the Warriors’ head coach is twofold – to develop the team’s football skills, and to build its collective confidence as Nokomis prepares for battle in the highly competitive Pine Tree Conference Class B ranks.

“We want the kids to start to believe in themselves,” said Pratt. “Dave Evans did a lot of good things here, and we want to continue those things, and we want to do the things we need to do so the kids will start thinking like winners.”

Nokomis has some tools to work with as it hopes to improve on last season’s 1-7 record, particularly a solid junior class that gained some quality experience as sophomores.

That class is led by Derek Amoroso, a returning starter at quarterback.

“He’s smart, quick, very athletic and he has a good arm,” said Pratt. “And if he has to run the football, he becomes a double threat.”

He’ll be joined in the offensive backfield by classmate Jordan Richards, a first-year football player who will get time at both tailback and defensive back, while senior Ethan Curry is a speed threat at split end.

Matt Simmonds is a 6-foot-3, 270-pound tackle who will anchor the line of scrimmage. Among those joining him will be junior tackle Heiko Nichols.

Nichols and Simmonds also will be key to the Nokomis defensive front, while junior linebacker-tight end John Barrows is a returning two-way starter.

Senior Gerald Gould will join Barrows at linebacker, while Amoroso, Richards and Curry will man the secondary.

“We have a decent corps of guys who are back and have experience from last year,” said Pratt. “What we don’t have yet is a longstanding tradition, and that takes time.”

What Nokomis does have now is strong participation throughout its fledgling program, with more than 60 players at the junior high level, approximately 20 freshmen and in the mid-40s at the varsity level.

That varsity number brings with it another asset on which the Warriors hope to capitalize.

“We’re pretty deep,” Pratt said. “They’re not all-conference players, but we have two or three kids at each position and that’s a strength.”

Pratt acknowledges that playing the likes of Gardiner, Winslow, Waterville and the other teams in the PTC Class B represents a significant challenge for his second-year club.

“It’s a very tough league, no question,” said Pratt. “But there are some winnable games. If we can avoid injuries and keep improving, I see good things down the road.”

NOKOMIS WARRIORS

2007 results: 1-7 in PTC Class B

Head coach: Haggie Pratt, 1st year

Key players: Derek Amoroso, Jr., QB-DB; Jordan Richards, Jr., RB-DB; Matt Simmonds, Jr., OT-DT; John Barrows, Jr., TE-LB; Heiko Nichols, Jr. OT-DT; Gerald Gould, Sr., OG-LB; Ethan Curry, Sr., SE-CB

Outlook: Nokomis endured the growing pains typical of a first-year varsity team this fall, but there is reason for long-term optimism. Participation is strong throughout the high school program and feeder system, and while this year’s high school team has just six seniors, the Warriors could experience more success this fall if the line play creates opportunities for playmakers like Amoroso, Richards, and Curry.