Two of those losses were to state champion Oak Hill, including a season-ending 17-14 setback in the Class D regional semifinals.

So the Ramblers were on the verge in 2015.

And now they’re back, just about all of them.

“We’ve got a lot of upperclassmen that have been with us in this system for three years, and day one, day two (of practice), it’s like we didn’t take time off, they just hit the ground running,” coach Dave St. Hilaire said.

Headlining the returners is quarterback Matt Ingram, who is in his third year starting under center.

“One of the other coaches had made a comment and said it’s night and day over where he was even last year,” St. Hilarie said. “He’s just progressed so well. And that’s just a credit to Matt, because he just works so hard (in the) offseason.”

Ingram threw for 896 yards and seven touchdowns to six interceptions in 2015

“It’s given me more confidence,” he said. “Sophomore year, I came in to it kind of nervous about it a little bit, and then over the years, it’s been a lot of experience that’s given me the feel for our offense.”

To complement Ingram’s increased command of the offense, the Ramblers have added a few wrinkles, including lining up in the shotgun — occasionally.

“It’s just something to toy with and use some skill guys,” St. Hilaire said. “But we’re still basically a Wing-T running team, and we’ll face teams and come out with that, but we’ve got that (shotgun) in our back pocket.”

That new toy will give the offense a more varied look while also setting up opportunities for the plethora of weapons.

“Out of our top seven running backs last year, one graduated, and we’ve got the other six,” St. Hilaire said. “And same thing with receiving: we lost our tight end to graduation, but we’ve got everybody else back.”

Alec Brown gained 836 yards on 147 carries last year. Nate Scott ran 85 times for 525 yards and caught 11 passes for 145 yards. Leading receiver Bennett Brooks, who had 26 receptions for 506 yards, also returns.

“We lost a few important seniors, but we’re hoping to get back,” Ingram said. “We have plenty of depth to replace them. We’re hoping to be even stronger than we were last year.

“We all have the experience, a lot of us have been starting since sophomore year. And we’ve been running the same offense, so a lot of us know it pretty well.”

St. Hilaire said said that if there is one area that needed to improve over the course of preseason practices, it is the offensive line knowing its roles and assignments. But, he added, the line already is ahead of last year’s pace.

And, according to offensive tackle Ryan Hafford, the line also is an impressive bunch.

“Offensive line’s looking great. We have so much depth,” Hafford said. “And just looking at the size when we’re going through drills, this is the biggest offensive line group I think we’ve had in a while.”

The defense is aiming to be more aggressive and proactive, and less reactive.

“The schemes that we’re drawing up, it’s going to be fun,” Hafford, also a defensive tackle, said. “We’re not trying to let the offense just try to pick us apart, we’re just going to attack them, make them adjust to us.”

Despite coming off a 4-4 record in 2015 and tying for fourth place, the Ramblers are considered one of the favorites, along with Lisbon, to win Class D South this season.

That’s a credit to the talent and experience they have returning and how close they were in 2015. But last season was as much of a bummer as it was a boost, even that three-point loss to a team that was a few weeks away from a state title three-peat.

“It’s more a sour confidence, if you want to look at it that way,” St. Hilaire said. “They’re confident that we can play with those teams and play at that level, but sour that it ended the way that it did.”

So the Ramblers entered this season on a quest, for which St. Hilaire said they are always engaged and always working.

“We’re going to give 100 percent,” Hafford said. “There’s no way this team won’t give 100 percent, so we’ll be glad to see what happens at the end.”

Winthrop/Monmouth jumps right into it with a Week 1 showdown with Lisbon on the road.

lhorton@sunjournal.com