Andrews Yellow Jackets

Andrews coach Steve Hart pondered the question _ what are your team's strengths? _ for about five seconds before he could reply.

``Do you want to know what our strength is?'' Hart said. ``It's our attitude. I think we are trying to do the right things. Good bunch of kids, I can't ask for no better than that.''

The mindset of teenagers is so vitally important in the high school game, and perhaps it will play an even larger role this season for Andrews, a program that returns only five starters from a team that finished 3-8 in 2007.

Although the program boasts 21 seniors, Hart is left to rebuild after seeing leading rusher Justin Duncan and other key contributors graduate.

Still, last year's starting quarterback Thomas Lance, who will play several different offensive positions this season, doesn't want that to be an excuse.

``It's a couple of our senior years,'' Lance said. ``We are trying to do something big this year and go as far as we can.

``We've got to get more aggressive. We've got to get better at running to the ball, making better tackles and better blocks on offense.''

Hart also mentioned his team's need to add some intensity and aggression, especially if the Yellow Jackets expect to compete against bigger and faster opponents during the Region VII-AA schedule.

Lance will serve as the catalyst of the offense and is a key cog in the secondary. For the first time in Hart's coaching career, the offense will not base out of the Wing-T, choosing instead to utilize the spread zone attack. The non-region schedule is tough, but the Yellow Jackets will certainly need to be hitting on all cylinders when the region slate begins if they are going to have any chance of a postseason berth.

``[The region is] going to be tough,'' Hart said. ``Just looking at the teams, it's about can you hang on and not have a lot of injuries and those type of things? When you're playing a lot of big, strong type of teams that's what it's about.''