Whenever an athletic program is started, the immediate goal is to build a solid foundation which will hopefully yield steady growth and improvement.

The Husson College football program has followed that blueprint to the letter.

In just four seasons, the Eagles have gone from winless in 2003 to 6-4 this past season.

And the NCAA Division III independent had an impressive list of wins that included Utica (21-7), Norwich (14-13) and Division I-AA LaSalle (17-7).

The future is bright as 17 starters will return to tackle the same challenging schedule as this past season with one possible exception.

Husson opened against Division II Pace (N.Y.) and that may change.

“We had an excellent year,” said head coach and athletic director Gabby Price. “Our kick game had a big, big, big improvement. That was something we felt we had to get better on. We also had to get quicker and we were a lot quicker on defense. We played very well. We had 22 interceptions. We’ve had 61 interceptions in the last 27 games.

“Offensively, we played better teams this year so we didn’t run the ball as well as we had hoped although we had some great performances. We had to replace five guys so there were more challenges on offense,” added Price.

The Eagles averaged 127.4 rushing yards per game after averaging 205.4 against a weaker schedule last season.

But freshman running back Bryan Ferguson was a real bright spot as he ran for 978 yards and averaged 4.2 yards per carry.

“He had an outstanding year. He was 14th or 15th in the nation in all-purpose yards,” said Price.

Between rushing yards, reception yardage and kickoff returns, Ferguson accounted for 1,556 total yards. He scored seven touchdowns.

He will be back to headline an offense that will include fullback Shawn McCurdy; its top three receivers in Jeremy Shorey (33 catches, 423 yards, four TDs), Andre Wildman (30/332/1 TD) and Ferguson (17/206, 3 TDs) and some experienced offensive linemen.

However, three-year starting quarterback David Chase, who threw for 3560 yards and 31 TDs during his career, will have to be replaced. He was 111-for-232 for 1228 yards and 10 TDs this year.

The quarterback position is a prime recruiting focus, according to Price.

“It’s wide open,” said the former Bangor High School football coach.

Right guard Mike Closson, right tackle A.J. Buzzell and tight end Tom Lasko will also have to be replaced but Price will return the likes of linemen Tyler Hunnewell, Josh Pinkney, Matt Benson and Jason Cross along with two freshmen who received quality reps in Ryan Esmail and Will Isbister. They also return tight end P.J. Dowe (6 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD).

Sophomore Darius Charlton (43 for 93) began the season at running back before being moved to defensive back. He’ll also return.

On defense, lineman Tyler Libbey (14 solo tackles, 12 assists), linebacker Josh Lemieux (34 & 16, 2 interceptions) and safety Bryan Biggers (41 & 7, 5 interceptions) will have to be replaced.

But there is a talented list of returnees headlined by linebacker Ross Salovitch (62 & 22, 4 sacks), who led the team in tackles; second-leading tackler and defensive back Ramael Barton (39 & 13, 3 interceptions); defensive end Shane Rogers (35 & 11, 3 sacks); linebacker Cory Smith (29 & 11, team-high 8 sacks) and safety Jon Tefft (19 & 9, team-high 7 interceptions).

Doug Blades (18 & 11, 1 interception) started in the secondary as a freshman; Adam Johnson (13 & 9, 1 interception) earned productive minutes at linebacker and the defensive line also returns Joe Melcher (21 & 19, 3 sacks), Brandon Harris (15 & 5) and Dom Torch (9 & 2).

Salovitch had 13 tackles for a loss; Smith had 12.5, Rogers had 9 and Melcher had 6.

Vastly improved Darren Gauthier made two of three field goals and 18 of 23 extra points and Tefft averaged 36 yards per punt.

Price feels they will probably need to win seven games to get into the mix for a playoff spot next season and feels his team’s 4-2 road record may preclude them from being a Homecoming opponent at virtually every road game next fall.

“That was our mantra this year,” said Price who is hoping to recruit more speed and depth for next year’s team in addition to addressing specific needs.

UMF’s Campbell gains honor

Erin Campbell of the University of Maine-Farmington women’s soccer team has been named to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-Region First Team.

Campbell, a senior from Hampden, is now seeking her second Academic All-America award, which will be announced later this month.

Campbell maintains a 3.99 GPA in elementary education and English and is also a standout on the field, earning a first-team all-conference selection from the North Atlantic Conference. She finished the season with seven goals and two assists and totaled 46 career goals at UMF.

USM’s Wheeler in national race

University of Southern Maine runner Curtis Wheeler has qualified to compete in the NCAA Division III men’s cross country national championship race on Nov. 18 in Mason, Ohio.

Wheeler, a junior, placed 10th among a field of 309 in the New England regional meet on Saturday with a time of 26 minutes, 3.3 seconds over the 8-kilometer course.