The perennial expectations for Leavitt football? Still there.

Head coach Mike Hathaway, who has his youngest team “by a long shot” in his 15 years leading the Hornets, said expectations are “absolutely” still high.

Leavitt must fill the shoes (cleats?) of 18 graduated seniors, and the junior and senior classes of this year’s team don’t even equal that total combined. Nearly half of the Hornets’ roster is made up of freshmen.

“Grade is definitely just a number,” senior Jack Sylvester said. “We have even some freshmen that are coming up and starting defense for us, and a lot of younger players are definitely stepping up more than we expected them.”

Sylvester, a tight end and lienbacker, is one of just four players on this year’s roster to have started a varsity game. The others are tailback/defensive back Hunter Sirois, slot/defensive back DeAndre James and lineman Aidan Parmenter.

Hathaway said he sees some talent in his younger players, but asking them to go toe-to-toe with seniors can be risky.

“It’s always a litle bit of a worry,” Hathaway said. “We’ve got some 14-or-15-year-olds in there that are going to be going against 16-and-17-year-olds.”

Two freshmen — Riley Parmenter at guard, Camden Jordan at defensive end — could start. It’s a rare opportunity that Sirois said the newcomers aren’t taking lightly.

“A lot of them have been in the weight room and they’ve been working hard,” Sirois said, “so they know it’s going to be a challenge, not going to be some walk in the park.”

The season playing against Class B South competition won’t be a walk in the park either. Leavitt opens at home against Westbrook (which Hathaway thinks could be a contender), then goes on the road for three straight against Morse, York and two-time defending state champ Marshwood.

“You got to find the new leaders,” Hathaway said.

“Definitely we have to get them going,” said Sylvester, one of just three seniors who have started, about being a leader. “Really it’s not like a skill thing that we have to pick up, we just have to get everyone motivated.”

Not only will many of the names change, so will the balance of offensive play calls. Craig and his all-conference throwing arm are gone. Junior quarterbacks Bryce Hudson and Tim Albert will compete for his vacant spot, and James will also get some looks as the trigger man.

But an offense that passed more than most teams in Maine will call a lot more running plays for Sirois and the rest of the Hornets backfield.

“Having Levi there last year, it was obviously geared more toward the pass game with him,” Hathaway said. “We’ll be definitely more of a running team. We’ll look a little bit more like we did before Levi was here.”

Sylvester called classmate Sirois a “really good tailback,” and James flashes versatility.

The rest of the go-to players are still unknown.

“Some guys are going to have to step up,” Hathaway said. “We’re counting on some young guys. So they’re going to have to grow up quick.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com