ORONO – What do the 2006 Orono Red Riots and the 1988 Permian Panthers have in common?

A lot.

Like the Odessa, Texas, high school team portrayed in the film “Friday Night Lights,” coach Bob Sinclair’s Red Riots make up for in speed what they lack in size.

And unlike last year, when Orono had just one standout back in Mardy Simon to rely on, the Riots have a balanced backfield of three backs in senior Jared Bussell and juniors Colin Bates and Ben Stout to carry the load.

Simon gained more than 2,000 rushing yards last fall, and the Riots are hoping to keep defenses off balance more this season with different running backs.

“It’s good and bad obviously, we’re not gonna have a huge part of our team that we had last year,” said senior two-way lineman Mike Zhang, who may also play some linebacker.

“This balance is really important for us now, we can actually get the full potential of our offense,” Zhang added.

Having three backs to carry the load in his Oklahoma-T set should really pay dividends, Sinclair said.

“That’s gonna be the difference, [last year] it was easy to call Mardy’s number, what was frustrating was we couldn’t call someone else’s number,” the coach explained. “What we want to do is have better balance and mix things up, have a better balance of run and pass.”

Senior guard-linebacker Mike Baker said that working together as one has been a huge mindset in training camp.

“We really need to come together as a team, which I think we’re doing quite well,” he said.

Baker expressed his excitement about having a deep backfield for which to clear holes.

“[We’re] really excited that we have a bunch of no-names that nobody’s going to be able to key in on,” he said. “We’re going to be able to keep our offense balanced and surprise other defenses.”

Sinclair, however, knows that the Riots will be tested against teams such as Foxcroft Academy, which knocked Orono out of the playoffs a year ago.

“They know this is going to be a real battle,” Sinclair said. “You’ll see a steady improvement. It’s a great group of kids.”

Many of the players moving up to varsity this fall had great experience on junior varsity.

“Don’t get the wrong impression, we’re going to be an experienced team,” Sinclair said. “When you’re a junior, it’s time to play varsity football.”

Defensively, the Riots will have to use their quickness to slow down opponents and force them into second- and third- down-and-long situations.

“We’re a little quicker than we’ve been in the past, and we’d like to take advantage of that,” said Sinclair, who added that Orono will employ a 50-base defense.

The coach also has the playoffs on his mind, even though Sinclair knows that several teams will be bunched together come October.

“It’s gonna be a scramble for those last two playoff sports, there’s real balance after those first two [teams],” he said.

ORONO RED RIOTS

2005 Results: 5-4, lost in LTC Semifinals

Head Coach: Bob Sinclair, 3rd year

Key Players: Jared Bussell, HB-CB, Sr.; Brian Henigan, TE-DE, Sr.; Matt Baker, G-LB, Sr.; Dustan Nevells, OG-DT, Sr.; Mike Zhang, C-LB-NG, Sr.; Colin Bates, RB-DB, Jr.; Ben Stout, RB-CB, Jr.

Outlook: Orono is fairly big as far as numbers are concerned with 44 players out, and the Red Riots look to get back to the postseason. Look for Orono to utilize its speed and quickness in the backfield and mix in some play-action pass.