Littlefield entered two-a-days in August coming off one of the most successful seasons in team history.

The Wildcats finished as the only undefeated team in District 3-2A (7-0) and had their first undefeated regular season under head coach Bryan Huseman, who is headed into his ninth season at the helm.

But Littlefield ran into Muleshoe in the Class 2A Division I regional semifinals, and the Mules beat the Wildcats 28-10 en route to the state championship.

That first practice brought a little perspective back into what the Wildcats have in store for the 2009 season and how different it might be.

“We’re really young and inexperienced,” Huseman said. “We’ve got a lot of talented kids but we have a lot to learn as this season goes on.”

The Wildcats lost 13 lettermen, including quarterback Fernie Barrio, defensive tackle Jonathan Salinas and all-state linebacker Blake Torres.

Barrio, who’s younger brother, Patric, returns to help lead the offense, was the experienced leader of the group. Fernie racked up 581 yards on the ground and another 650 through the air.

Sophomore Tracy Huseman, junior Josh Merrifield and junior Devron McKelvey will battle for the quarterback position.

And then there’s the loss of Steven Hobratschk.

Wide receiver, tight end, defensive back, kicker, punter — he could do it all.

“There were so many that you just took for granted,” Huseman said. “They were there, they were awfully good for us and now that they’re gone people are going to have to step up and take their spots.”

But Littlefield does return youthful players with some starting experience — mainly in Patric Barrio and defensive back Blade Onofre. Barrio ran for 857 yards and scored 120 points last year. Both have started since they were sophomores and will have to help rally the younger players in a group that includes 13 seniors and 18 juniors — only seven of whom are returning starters.

“I think we have some talented kids that just don’t know what to do yet,” Huseman said. “They’re talented but we just have a lot to learn. … Now they have a year under their belts as sophomores and will have to help lead this team.”

Abernathy

New head coach Darrell Daily takes over an Abernathy program that just missed out on the playoffs last season, finishing 6-4, 4-3 in 3-2A.

His biggest task will be finding a replacement for running back Peyton Rogers, who led the South Plains area for Class 2A and below with 1,701 rushing yards and 162 points.

Daily inherits a team with 14 returning lettermen — 10 of whom are returning starters. Most notable are quarterback Ryan Pierce and wide receivers Dylan Lewis and Steven Barbee.

Pierce completed 44 percent of his passes for 1,304 yards, 10 touchdowns and only six picks last year. Two of his favorite targets, Lewis and Barbee, had 302 yards and 229 yards receiving, respectively.

Denver City

The biggest question surrounding the Mustangs and head coach Terry Summers is how a talented group of 14 returning lettermen will respond after the disappointing 2008 season, finishing 4-6 with just one win in 3-2A.

Summers is optimistic he has the right players to help lift the team to another level and will rely heavily on quarterback Alberto Alarcon and wide receivers Quade Adams and Kason Garner. Alarcon proved to be a reliable player, but can he get Denver City some wins in 3-2A this season after the Mustangs started out 3-0 last year?

Idalou

It has been an emotional roller coaster for Idalou since its 27-13 loss to Cisco in the Class 2A Division II Region I final. That game not only marked the end of the Wildcats’ 12-2 season, but the beginning of former running back Tanner Cook’s battle for his life.

Cook suffered a head injury near the end of his final game and had to endure several seizures before beginning rehabilitation in December.

Idalou returns only five lettermen and three starters from last year’s squad and looks to replace Cook and quarterback/defensive end Sean Reagan. The two helped lead Idalou into the postseason the past four years and will leave it up to C.J. Parkhill, Jacob Johnson and Blace Wallace to continue the tradition.

Parkhill was primarily a wide receiver last season, and handled kick and punt returns, but spent the summer as the quarterback for Idalou’s 7-on-7 team. He will most likely do the same in the fall.

Post

Head coach Chris Jones begins his second season with the Antelopes with plenty of players returning for the 2009 campaign. Jones brings back 17 lettermen — 14 starters — including senior running backs Giles Dalby and Clint Windham.

And he’s got a little twist to put on his spread system this season.

Windham looks to be the frontrunner to take over as quarterback, giving the Antelopes an option threat that could help produce some more points this season.

Windham and Dalby accounted for the majority of team’s points and yards en route to a 5-5 record, 3-4 in 3-2A, winning two of their final three games.

Roosevelt

Second-year head coach Greg Poynor is bound and determined to prove that 2008 was not a fluke — and so are his players.

The Eagles in 2008 won the school’s first playoff game since 1971 and made the furthest trek into the postseason in school history. Now comes the followup with only eight rturning lettermen and six returning starters

“We want those expectations,” Poynor said. “We want to feel like the type of program that expects to be in the playoffs every single year not matter who we lost or who’s coming back. But we’ve got no illusions. We know how tough the district is and we understand that.”

The Eagles will look to fill several holes from last year’s powerful offense. Junior Caden Whitley is expected to step in at qurterback and he’ll have just three returning starters to help him out in senior receiver Brett Poynor and linemen Hunter Herrell, a senior, and Dominque Cradduck, a junior.

Defensively is where the bulk of the Eagles’ returning talent lies in senior linemen Blake Petree, Cody Welborn and end Justin Fruits. Senior Tommy Ruzicka anchors the linebackers while Ryan Davis is back at corner.

Shallowater

The Mustangs will get somewhat of a face-lift with new head coach Kyle Maxfield bringing in his spread offense from Rosebud-Lott.

And he has quite a plethora of returning players to try and mold into his new system.

He’ll inherit 24 returning lettermen, 14 of which started last season for Shallowater. But one of the biggest concerns may be how the team improves defensively. The Mustangs allowed 283 yards per game and an average of 23.2 points per game while scoring just 15.1 points per game.

Slaton

As head coach Grady Benton heads into his third year at the helm of the Tigers, he’ll be looking for a little help on his squad from some younger players. The Tigers have eight returning lettermen, six starters from last season including junior running back/linebacker Levi Salinas.

Salinas will be the catalyst in Slaton’s attempt to boost an offense that prduced just 278 yards per game in 2008 while allowing 319 yards per game by opponents. He will most likely get the majority of carries that were handled by Jace Chancellor last season.