Pine Tree Conference Class A football coaches began extolling Edward Little High School’s virtues prior to the start of last season. Which might explain EL coach Darren Hartley’s restraint when writing out the laundry list of contenders for the 2008 title.

“I always think the way the conference breaks down, until somebody else steps up and proves differently, is Bangor and Lawrence,” Hartley said. “I think out of that next group that Skowhegan, Brunswick and Mt. Blue are going to be pretty tough. And I’ll tell you, Lewiston has some great skill kids.”

Just as former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz once generated guffaws by making opponents Navy and Rutgers sound like the 1960s Green Bay Packers, Hartley isn’t really fooling anyone.

“Is he giving that ‘Lewiston’s loaded’ line?” inquired Blue Devils boss Bill County. “I honestly think, even though people will look at (Edward Little) having a rough season last year, that they’re going to give Lawrence and Bangor all they can handle.”

While the recent one-two punch wears the anointing oil of co-favorites until further notice, heavy graduation losses are expected to reel them closer to the pack. The Bulldogs must replace Fitzpatrick Trophy winning quarterback Jack Hersom. Up in the Queen City, wingback Adam Billings and lineman Jory Tracy are the only returning players who started on offense in Bangor’s semifinal win over Lewiston last fall.

The door’s open a crack, and the consensus is that Edward Little stands best equipped to knock it down.

Talked up to the level of perhaps the second-best team in the southern division one preseason ago, the Red Eddies stumbled to an injury-riddled, one-win season.

“We all know you can’t just flip a switch,” said Mt. Blue coach Gary Parlin. “If EL starts out well and gets some confidence, they’re going to be really tough.”

EL hasn’t cracked the upper echelon since defeating Lewiston in the 2002 PTC title game. One or two victories per season have become the norm. Easy, then, for Hartley to keep the perceived pressure on his team’s shoulders to a minimum.

“Our numbers are better,” conceded Hartley. “It just seems like we can’t shake that injury bug. We’ve still got some guys up front that we’re looking to see what they can do.”

There’s little doubt that the Red Eddies will light up the scoreboard this season, thanks to a senior-dominated corps of backs and receivers. Cody Goddard led the state in passing attempts as a junior and wound up second in the PTC in yardage. EL will adopt some wrinkles of the increasingly popular spread offense in order to play to Goddard’s strengths.

Tailback Dylon Therrien and inner receiver Merton “Buddy” Foss can fly. Tall, rangy receivers Sean Daigle and Shane Ciriello are back, and Lewiston transfer Dominique Bailey gives the Eddies a third threat capable of out-jumping defensive backs in the end zone.

“Our schedule is right. We know we can go out and compete,” Hartley said. “There are five, six, seven games on our schedule where, gosh darn it, we should be able to go out and compete to win. If we don’t go to the playoffs, this is a group of guys that absolutely will be crushed.”

Three straight playoff appearances and wins over EL have given Lewiston the edge in the riverside rivalry.

The Devils know something about how tough it is to crack the PTC’s glass ceiling that separates Mile 135 and North from the rest of the league. Lewiston is 0-4 against Bangor the last two years, including two tough playoff losses.

Lewiston appears to start the season in the same boat it rode in 2006, when Jared Turcotte was the premier player in the state on an otherwise young squad. Wesley Myers, who rolled up multiple 200- and 300-yard games as a junior, will roam behind a completely retooled offensive line.

“If those two cycles could ever catch up with each other, it would be something,” County said.

Expect the Devils to try creative means to get Myers the ball in open space. That could mean a few hints of spread and three-receiver sets, also, although County remains committed to the Wing-T.

Kris Gagne is the lone returning letterman up front. Lewiston is also high on the potential of Nick Bickford, a senior who transferred too late from state champion Bonny Eagle to suit up last season.

“If there was ever a year where we needed a transfer who was an offensive lineman, this is it,” County said.

The Devils return their entire starting secondary in Myers, Chuck Faletra and Tony Saucier.

Mt. Blue replaces all-conference quarterback Joe Gilbert with capable Ryan Backus, a junior and three-sport athlete who should fit into the Cougars’ 15-year pattern of double threats in the pocket.

Top runner Derek Rowe and leading receivers Justin Brooks and Ben Altmeier are back in the mix. The healthy return of linebackers Chad Simoneau and Alec Wallace, both of whom played only two games in 2007, should shore up a defense that has struggled to contain the run.

“We had a 138-pound kid playing Class A football at strong safety and 148 pounds playing linebacker last year,” Parlin said.

There’s a new coach and a new offensive philosophy at Oxford Hills, where Nate Danforth has adopted the spread attack. Jake Hall is the new quarterback charged with learning the system.

“People were putting nine guys in the box and shutting us down,” Danforth said. “This gives us a chance to take advantage of our speed.”

With leading tailback D.J. Drew out of the lineup indefinitely, Nate Dubois begins the season as the featured back. Josh Desrosier, Josh Champagne and Chris Ney anchor a line learning its new responsibilities.