The 2003-04 Eastern Maine Class C boys basketball season begins with change in the air, and competitiveness within the division.

Reigning state champion George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill has a new lineup on the floor and a new leader on the sidelines.

Former junior varsity coach Dwayne Carter has ascended to the varsity post after Matt Mattson stepped down over the summer, and Carter leads a vastly different team than the one that took home the gold ball last March. Ten of last year’s 12 varsity players graduated, leaving returning players Andrew Lymburner and Tim Carter as veterans on an Eagles’ team heavily reliant on sophomores who were key components of last year’s successful JV squad.

“We’re up and down,” said coach Carter. “We’re improving every week, but right now we’re just really young. We’ll be a lot better as we go along.”

Dexter, the other regional finalist last winter, graduated the school’s career scoring leader in Travis Patterson, but returns a deep and talented lineup capable of muscling its way back to postseason success.

There’s also change among the Eastern C membership. Hodgdon has moved to Class D, while Houlton has dropped from Class B and Woodland and Limestone/Maine School of Science and Mathematics have come up from the Class D ranks.

One thing hasn’t changed. With a geographic span including six counties and three distinct regional schedules, predicting who will earn the right to compete against Western C’s best for the state championship is an uncertain undertaking at best.

“I think there’s clearly going to be a lot more parity in Class C,” said Penquis of Milo coach Tony Hamlin.

Among the newcomers, Houlton figures to be a significant player in this year’s Eastern C race, as the Shiretowners are led by one of the top players in the region in 6-foot-5 sophomore Mark Socoby, who scored 40 points in a season-opening win at Schenck of East Millinocket.

“It’s our first year in Class C, said second-year Houlton coach Sean Callahan, “but we went 10-8 in our last year in Class B and have most of our key players returning, so we’re optimistic.

“We have talent, but the most important thing for us is to have five players on the floor always working toward the same goal.”

Dexter will rely heavily on a six-member junior class that lost just once as freshmen on the junior varsity and then played a pivotal role as coach Peter Murray’s club reached the Eastern C final before dropping a 63-55 decision to George Stevens.

That group, including Eric Day, Matt Murray and Chris Rabideau, is joined by a senior contingent featuring third-year varsity players Brett Towle and Mike Martin.

“This is a pretty confident group,” said Murray of a team that includes several members of Dexter’s 2003 Eastern C championship soccer team and last spring’s baseball team that dropped a one-run decision to eventual state champion GSA in the regional semifinals.

“They have pretty good skills and they’ve had success. They expect to be there,” he added.

Dexter will be challenged in its region by Penquis, which ran off 14 straight wins at one point last season and was the No. 1 seed entering the tournament before being dispatched by the Tigers in the semifinals.

The Patriots have three returning starters in brothers Justin and Jordan Allen and Devin Perkins.

“They’re probably the best three kids on one team in Class C,” Hamlin said. “They’re all pretty good players.”

Among Downeast Athletic Conference teams expected to figure prominently in the Eastern C tournament mix are Washington Academy of East Machias and Narraguagus of Harrington.

Washington Academy returns all but one player from its 2002-03 team that fell to George Stevens in the regional quarterfinals. The Raiders feature one of Eastern Maine’s top backcourts in seniors Jared Gray and Whitney Stevens, while James Ramsdell is WA’s primary frontcourt presence.

“We’re looking to do some damage, said Raiders’ coach Chad Fitzsimmons. “A key will be for us to work together as a team.”

Narraguagus finished 4-14 a year ago but suffered a lot of narrow losses along the way. Coach Ron Brown’s club returns all its key players from a year ago, a contingent led by seniors Jamie Bailey and Jason Strout.

“Although we had a strong summer, we still have work to do,” said veteran coach Ron Brown, in his second season with the Knights. “I think we’re a legitimate tourney contender.”

Among other contenders, Schenck and Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln boast new head coaches with impressive tournament histories. Steve LeVasseur is in his second stint at Schenck – he led the Wolverines to the 1994 state championship and the Schenck girls to consecutive state crowns in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Mattanawcook is led by Rick Sinclair, who coached Hermon to the 2000 Eastern B crown.

Stearns of Millinocket features one of the region’s top players in senior guard Derek DiFrederico and a strong inside presence in 6-foot-4 senior Matt LeGassey, while youthful Piscataquis of Guilford, Calais, Searsport and Central of Corinth are other teams considered capable of making a playoff run.