Still, Blake isn't one to shirk from a good challenge.

So when the nod for head coach came his way, Blake embraced the job with what he called "a positive attitude and a lot of energy."

His solid background in Homer Pop Warner football didn't hurt, as he already has established a good working relationship with many of his athletes.

"I've known a lot of these guys since they were pretty small," Blake said. "I'm hoping to build on that relationship, and give them a little more stability and consistency."

Blake played high school football in Oklahoma and has a strong defensive background. However, this year he will move into the offensive role, and leave most of the defensive work to assistant coach Cameron Wyatt.

Wyatt, who also has a lengthy history with Mariner football, looks to get his "Hitt Squad" in good physical shape by season's start.

"We play pretty close to "Ironman" football (where players play on both offense and defense)," Wyatt said. "These guys have to be in great shape to be able to do that and stay on top of their game."

However, with only two weeks of conditioning time available before the Mariners open their 2003 season against the Bulldogs of Nikiski, Wyatt conceded that he sees this as no easy task.

"We're lucky if our guys have been doing anything more than fishing or skateboarding over the summer," he said. "We'll definitely have our conditioning work cut out for us."

Blake agreed.

"I tell these guys that the first two weeks of practice are probably going to be the most difficult thing they have gone through so far in their lives," he said. "But I really try to encourage them to stick it out. The rewards in the end are definitely worth it."

As for Blake's reward in the end?

"We want to have a winning season," he said. "But more than that, we'd really like to make it to the playoffs. It's been a long time since Homer football has made it to the playoffs."

Wyatt said he is hoping for something tangible to show for this season.

"We've never had a football banner in the gym," he said. "I want to be a part of the coaching staff that gets to go in there and hang a football banner for the first time."

Leading the way on offense for the Mariners this year will be quarterback Canyon McKinstry. McKinstry saw quite a bit of playing time at quarterback at the junior varsity level, and Blake said he is confident that the sophomore has the physical ability, insight and composure to lead at the varsity level.

"He's just an athlete," Blake said. "He's got a great mind for the game and he's getting better and better and reading defenses and reacting."

Blake said that watching McKinstry play last year, he was impressed by the amount of poise the young player showed.

"Canyon saw one of those big guys coming at him, and just stepped to the side and let him go past," Blake said. "It takes a special kind of kid to get in there and not get rattled when he sees a 250-pound lineman heading for him."

Blake said he is looking at trying a few new things this year as far as his offensive effort is concerned.

"We're looking at running a spread offense," he said. "Mariner football has always been known for its hard-hitting, run-up-the-middle offense. We're going to keep doing that this year, but we may throw in a few surprises, too."

According to Blake, the size they lost on the line to graduation from last year's 5-3 team won't have that much of an effect on his game plan.

"We've got a lot of talent out there, even if we don't have a lot of size this year," he said. "We've got good leadership from Jake Fraley, and Jared Weaver is back and healthy."

Weaver tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee early last season. Blake said he hopes the 250-pound tight-end is back to 100 per cent.

Both Blake and Wyatt look for strong competition from Soldotna this year, with several rumors flying that some of last year's Skyview players may be moving over to play for the Stars.

"I think Soldotna ought to have a pretty strong team this year," Blake said. "Sarge (Truesdell, coach of the Stars), has always run a good program out there."

"And I'm sure he has had them all in the weight room lifting for the last couple of months, too," added Wyatt.

However, neither coach appears overly concerned about what the Stars hold for this season.

"We want our program to be like a big family," Blake said. "We work on building respect for each other and developing team unity. We're all about teamwork."

Teamwork with attitude, that is.

"Every year at one of the first practices, one of the young guys will get hit hard out of nowhere by one of our big guys," Blake said. "They always look around, wondering who hit them. We always smile, help him up, and say, 'welcome to Mariner football.'

Practice for the Mariners starts Monday, July 28, and their 2003 season opens at home on August 9.