Tri-Metro Conference preview

Coach: George Leistikow

2011 record: 2-7

• Numbers are always an issue for the Centaurs, and this season could be particularly brutal, having graduated 17 seniors. "Wins will be tough to come by," Leistikow said.

Coach: Brian Brown

2011 record: 6-4

• Brown said this year's team is still an unknown. He's counting on bowling ball running back Baeza Tensaie to run over people. He may have to; the Beacons lost their entire offensive line to graduation.

Coach: Paul Mork

• The program's building process is showing dividends. Fourteen regulars are back, including eight on defense led by cornerbacks Sam Dufault and Cameron Mehls. Expect them to pull a surprise or two.

Coach: Jim Stangler

2011 record: 1-8

• Football is the ultimate numbers game. The Aggies have notable talent, especially quarterback Akayla Porter, but just not enough of it.

Coach: Todd Niklaus

• Niklaus doesn't like to give away much about his team. It seems to work; the Huskies are 35-16 over the past five years. Eleven starters are back, making another successful season likely, but who will contribute to those victories is still a mystery.

Coach: Carl Lemke

2011 record: 14-0

• How to follow up a state championship? The defending Class 3A champs have some cornerstones to build on, led by 2,000-yard rusher Jackson Goplen, but senior Lincoln Hockmuth is a first-year starter at quarterback, a position in which experience is vital to knowing how to operate the Crusaders' complex veer offense.

Coach: John Coatta

• Growth will be measured with in-game goals -- consistency on offense, cutting down on turnovers, not giving up big plays -- rather than victories for a team that gave up nearly 30 points per game in 2011.

Coach: Brett Bergene

2011 record: 5-5

• The Mustangs coaching staff's task: Replace more than 2,000 yards of offense lost to the graduation of quarterback Austin Lommen and receivers Tyler Hudson and Kasey Robinson.

Coach: Sean McMenomy

• The best small-school team in the metro has Division I prospects in quarterback Reid Travis, cornerback Oscar Opara, offensive lineman Chad Fahning and defensive end Jareid Combs. Anything less than a November Metrodome appearance would be a disappointment.

Coach: Collin Quinn

2011 record: 6-4

• Quinn takes over a program that has had success on the field recently but less success retaining coaches. The Redhawks have 12 returning starters, an agile defense and a strong running game.

Coach: Nate Harrington

• A stout defense, led by Division I defensive line prospect Michael Warren, and nine starters back on offense will set out to show that last year's Class 3A semifinals appearance was no fluke.

Coach: Ed Perrault

2011 record: 0-9

• New head coach Perrault is enthused about a program that has been down for a long time. "It should be a positive season," he said. "We look to build on strengths from last year and limit mental mistakes."