By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

The teams of the Campbell Conference are so used to change by now that they’d be caught off-guard if there weren’t some comings and goings from one year to the next.

This year, it’s so long Gorham, hello Cape Elizabeth and Gray-New Gloucester. The concern is that, having added five new or almost new varsity teams in the last three years, the conference has, at least for the short-term, become an unbalanced league, with two or three strong teams at the top, and then a big drop-off to the rest.

“I hope for the sake of the whole league that the bottom is closer to the top than we were last year,” said Mountain Valley coach Jim Aylward.

Aylward had quite the view from the top last year. His Falcons, Gorham and York all finished 8-1 during the regular season. Wells and Greely also finished over .500, but then there was a big drop-off to Lake Region, Falmouth, Fryeburg and Poland.

Mountain Valley emerged with their first state championship in school history, and they’re the favorites to repeat as Western B champions. The Falcons lost nine starters, but are still very formidable up the middle. Most of the offensive and defensive lines are back.

It usually starts with the defense in Rumford, and there’s hope that this year’s unit can match last year’s stinginess. All-state linebacker Travis Fergola, linebacker Brendan Bradley and defensive tackles Kyle Dow and Thaddeus Bennett will make it nearly impossible for teams to run inside. The outside of the defense could be vulnerable, at least early.

“All of our experience is straight up the middle,” Aylward said. “We’ve got to develop some perimeter players.”

The same can be said for the offense, which beyond 5-foot-5 scat back Aaron Arsenault doesn’t have much experience at the skill positions. Fergola moves from the line to fullback and should be an excellent escort for Arsenault and provide additional protection for first-year QB starter Andy Shorey.

Poland made a big splash in its first season of varsity ball last year by beating Lake Region on opening night. The Knights could make an even bigger splash this year if they can pull out a couple of wins from a brutal opening month that starts at York then opens at home against Mountain Valley before hitting the road again for stops at Greely and Wells.

He lost 11 seniors, but head coach Rick Kramer hopes the team’s commitment in the off-season translates into taking the next step in the program’s second year.

“We’ll be much more competitive when it comes to the beginning of games,” he said. “We’ve stressed the fundamentals and that’s helped the kids understand it’s a competitive game that they take seriously. We can’t take plays off. this team can not afford that.”

The Knights like to throw the ball, which means junior QB Joe Douglas, slot back Tyler Merchant and wide receivers Chris St. Hilaire and Chad Westleigh will be keys. The defense has some size up front, but will be relying on linebackers Hunter Travers, Josh Gilpatrick and Merchant to make plays.

Fryeburg has five starters returning on each side of the ball. That includes senior QB Finn Chappell and running back Pat Tweedie, who churned out over 500 yards rushing last year. The offense will have a slightly different look, though, as head coach Jim “Fuzzy” Thurston plans on utilizing a tight end this year, a rarity in Fryeburg’s spread offense.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the already green offensive line got a little greener when senior captain and guard Josh Walker went down with a knee injury. Fortunately for the Raiders, Thurston has had strong freshman classes the last two years to fall back upon.

“Our young kids are pretty good sized, which bodes well for us for this year, next year and the year after,” he said.

The defense, led by senior twins Kyle and Stephen Barker, should be improved.

Former Lewiston and Winslow assistant Hank Girardin leads Gray-New Gloucester into its inaugural varsity season. The Patriots will dress 34 players, including 13 freshmen.

“We’re looking to play hard,” Girardin said. “We’re not going to aim too high or low. We’re just so young.”

The Patriots will have a big-play threat in junior tailback Josh Shobert. Fellow juniors Mike Thomas (fullback), Zach Parker (guard) and Joe Menard (tackle) will pave the way.

Many have York pegged to take a step back this year after losing all-state QB Eric Rostad and running back Stacy Bradburn, but the Wildcats have a lot of depth and should still be favored for one of the playoff spots. Wells also has some holes to fill, but speedy running back Justin Vigeant, a state champion in the 55-meter dash, should provide plenty of excitement as the Warriors try to challenge Mountain Valley. Greely, which finished a game out of the playoffs last year, could make the leap this year. Cape Elizabeth moves up from Class C having lost just six seniors. Lake Region and Falmouth are looking to rebound coming off two-win and one-win seasons, respectively.