For a change, Baldwin High football coach Mike Berg sees the Bulldogs’ strength in a different place this year.

In past years, BHS has been blessed with lots of skill-position talent. It was always a matter of finding a line to go in front of them.

That’s not the case in 2004.

“I like our linemen,” said Berg, who knows about the trenches as a player at Baker University and from coaching those positions for years. “Our linemen are way ahead of where we usually are. They know who to block, when to pull, everything.”

The line is anchored by Kyle Ruona, a 6-foot-1, 270-pound senior who has started for three years under Berg. Fellow seniors Justin Jones (5-10, 235), Caleb Thomas (5-11, 230) and Matt Bowlin (6-0, 205) are a big part of the mix. Juniors Braxton Nottingham (6-0, 195) and Eli Mitchell (5-11, 230) round out the top six.

Ruona and Thomas are guards, Nottingham the center and Jones has one of the tackle spots. The other tackle will be either Bowlin or Mitchell.

“They are both good surprises,” Berg said. “We’ve got two young coaches, Aaron Anderson and Jarrod Steffans, who are doing a great job with them.”

Berg, meanwhile, has been focusing his attention on who his line will be blocking for.

“It’s up to me to find some continuity in the backfield,” he said. “We’ve got running backs that each bring something different to the offense. We’ve got some speed back there. We’re faster than we were last year.

“We’ve got size at fullback with Luke Halford and we’ve got speed at fullback with Klay Garrison and Josiah Mason,” said Berg, adding that Brandon Cone and Robert Floersch are also viable candidates. “We’ve got five fullbacks who could start.”

Halford (6-0, 200), Cone (6-1, 190) and Floersch (5-11, 200) are seniors. Garrison (5-10, 185) and Mason (5-9, 160) are juniors.

Front row, from left: Ricky Baker, Austin Inzer, Emery Baughan, Scott Johnson, Earl McNish. Second row: Daren Gratts, Matthew Bowlin, Brandon Cone, Justin Jones, Kyle Ruona, Luke Halford, Caleb Thomas, Andreas Brandenberger, Robert Floersch. Third row: Josiah Mason, Troy Gilges, Cassidy Moore, Aaron Hannon, Jeremy Wright, John Brown, Braxton Nottingham, Eli Mitchell, Klay Garrison, Jarad Christian, Jared Chalender, Jake Milkey. Fourth row: Matt LaBuda, Michael Kohn, Brandon Reed, Zachary Austin, Joshua Wood, Andrew Madl, Nick Goldring, Taylor Ausherman, Blake Wieden, Brett Davis, Aaron Mills, Travis Moore. Fifth row: Rusty Flory, Lee Sheldon, Josh Richardson, Gabe Mason, Cameron Bryant, Drew Berg, Jacob Enick, Chase Abel, Kevin Callahan, Shawn Rowland, Anthony Ciambrone, Dan Glover. Sixth row: Kirsten Shuck, Ryan Moore, Michael Barnes, Sean Potter, Jarad Dykes, Beau Elder, Luke Weaver, Jesse Green, Cameron Scruggs, Kyle Smith, Zach Durr, Conner Nottingham.

There’s a similar group to choose from at tailback, too.

“We’re looking at five tailbacks — Austin Inzer, Garrison, John Brown, Emery Baughan and Aaron Mills,” he said.

Inzer (6-1, 175) and Baughan (5-7, 150) are seniors. Brown (5-9, 160) is a junior and Mills (5-8, 150) is a sophomore. At quarterback will be returning starter Jeremy Wright (5-10, 150, junior) and Blake Wieden (5-11, 160, sophomore).

At wide receivers will be Aaron Hannon (5-9, 140, sophomore), Baughan, Ricky Baker (6-0, 180, senior) and Brown. At tight end will be Earl McNish (6-0, 185) and Scott Johnson (5-11, 180). Both are seniors.

“We’re going to keep everyone fresh,” said Berg. “We’re going to be a team in the true sense of the word. We’re going to utilize our talent better. On offense, there will be different people for different sets.”

Offense is the good news for the Bulldogs this year. Defense is another matter.

“There are a lot of questions right now on defense,” said Berg. “Our strength is our secondary with Baker, Inzer and Wright returning. Baughan has some experience back there and Mason and Hannon are looking good.”

At linebacker, Halford is the lone returner and Thomas and Jones are the only returning starters along the line. Expected to play at linebacker will be Garrison, McNish and Taylor Ausherman (6-1, 190, sophomore). Along the line will be Ruona, Cone, Floersch and Mitchell. At strong ends will be McNish or Bowlin. At weak end will be Johnson or Nottingham.