BERLIN — Berlin coach Doug Paul has heard all of the talk about his team and knows about expectations.

But the ninth-year coach thinks that his Mountaineers still have to show what they can do.

“Because of the kids that we have back, that’s part of the reason why a lot of coaches have said that we have a target on our backs this year,” Paul said. “But in my own eyes, I don’t think that we’ve proved anything yet. Last year, we were just a .500 football team that didn’t win a district championship. And, yes we have a lot of players back, but we didn’t prove anything. I don’t think we’ve earned that yet, but at the same time, our players have to understand that with that target on our backs, you have to work that much harder. Each and every game is a big deal.”

Berlin has 16 returning lettermen from last year’s 5-6 team with eight starters back on offense and nine on defense.

The Mountaineers, who lost to Windber in last year’s District 5 Class A semifinal on the last play of the game, have just seven seniors on this year’s squad, but of that group, a few are already three-year letterwinners and were thrown into the fire early in their careers because of injuries to older players.

“Some of these guys have paid their dues,” Paul said. “They got plenty of bumps and bruises while they were freshmen and sophomores. And, now they want to dish a lot of that back this year.

“Overall, this team has a lot of speed. We have a lot of guys who can really fly. Our linemen have decent size and are very athletic with quick feet on them.”

Building quality depth and injuries are the concerns for Berlin.

“We have a lot of young guys on the roster that we have to get ready for Friday nights in case we have some injuries,” Paul said. “We have to use this time in camp to develop some quality depth.”

On offense, Berlin will be an option team with 1,000-plus yard rusher  Ian Sayler, a senior, taking over the reins at quarterback on a full-time basis. Sayler, the area’s fourth-leading rusher last year, finished with 1,723 yards on 233 carries. He also scored 140 points, including 23 touchdowns.

Senior Tyrel Stockwell also returns for the Mountaineers in the backfield. Stockwell will be joined by junior Brad Hillegas and sophomore Drew Glotfelty.

At 6-foot-7, senior Alex Will, a high jumper on the Berlin track team, will provide a passing threat for Sayler. Last year Will had 27 catches for 522 yards.

 Junior Ryan Lynch, who is the back-up quarterback, will also be one of the team’s wide receivers along with senior Max Dull and sophomore Luke Bonus. The tight end is junior Jacob Craig.

On the offensive line, there is a seven-man rotation with seniors Levi Weaver and Eric Benning in the tackle spots with juniors Sam Dively and Cody Keefer along with sophomore Levi Bowser in the guard slots. The center is senior Matt Meyers with sophomore Collin Stoltzfus also vying for playing time.

“We are hoping to spread teams out with a zone, veer, speed and load off that basic formation,” Paul said. “But we can run those four off of different variations. We definitely think that we’re going to be able to throw the ball some this year, and that’s a definite plus for us. We are hoping to be a lot less predictable.”

On defense, Berlin will run a 5-2.

At the ends will be Dively and either Dull, Brad Hillegas or junior Cole Butler. There are six players expected to get action on the inside of the defensive line including Benning, Weaver, Keefer along with Meyers, Bowser and sophomore Wyatt Horning.

Sophomore Mitchell Walker returns from an injury and is also going to help provide depth for the line.

Craig has been the starting linebacker for the past two years and the junior returns to that spot this year. He was the Mountaineers’ leading tackler with 126, including 41 solo stops.

The other spot is being rotated between juniors Andre Dauphinais and Cody Hillegas.

In the secondary are Stockwell and Lynch at the corners along with junior Austin Boyer. At safety, are Sayler, Glotfelty, Will and sophomore Blake Miller.

“We gave up over 20 points a game last year, so that’s an area where we know we have to improve,” Paul said. “We’ll be able to put points on the board, but we’ve really been stressing defense.”

Bowser and Will will handle the kicking chores while Will and Sayler will punt.

“The one big concern we have is that we are looking for a long snapper,” Will said. “Kyle Landis was there for four years, and now he’s a starter at Frostburg at long snapper as a freshman. That’s something we took for granted and we’ve been spending a lot of time working on that.”

Berlin opens against Ferndale on Friday.

“Going undefeated is great, but the playoffs are the ultimate goal,” Paul said. “You have to play some tough games during the season to get you ready for the playoffs. But you can only worry about what you can control. We know what we can do offensively, we just need to toughen up defensively.”

Paul is assisted by Mike May, Eric Craig, Brian Thompson, Scott Ressler, Joel Holsopple, John Lynch and George Eckenrod. The junior high coaches are Bob Bowers, Dave Custer, Brian Fochtman and Bobby Tayler.