by J.T. SIMMS, DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER , Charleston Daily Mail

Such is the situation Mike Sawyer finds himself in entering his eighth season as Buffalo High's football coach.

"We always expect to make the playoffs," Sawyer said.

The Bison advanced to the Class A playoffs every season from 2004 through 2007.

Last year's squad finished 5-5 and ranked No. 20 in the SSAC ratings. The top 16 teams in each class advance to the playoffs.

With only five starters returning and a good group of freshmen coming up, this would be considered a rebuilding year at a lot of schools.

But with a 48-27-1 record in his first seven seasons, Sawyer is nowhere near ready to throw in the towel.

"We've got some good experienced players and they're going to have to help the young kids," the Bison coach said.

He has been through this before. The 2003 team that barely missed the postseason with a 6-3-1 record - including 21-20 overtime loss to Fayetteville -also was a young group.

Junior Cameron Jones (6 feet 3, 210 pounds) will be at running back, wide receiver, and defensive end. Senior Matt Moore (5-11, 175 pounds) returns at running back and will also play linebacker.

They are the only defensive starters coming back on the 27-player squad.

The multitalented Jones could have a breakout season and has already drawn the attention of some college scouts.

"He has been a starter for two years for us," Sawyer said. "We expect big things from him."

Dustin Reed (5-6, 180) also returns, and will start at fullback and linebacker.

Anchoring the offensive line will be senior Chris Harmon (5-10, 200) and junior Daniel Cart (6-0, 205), who both started a year ago. Harmon will also start on the defensive front while Cart will go at linebacker.

Inexperienced underclassmen will be manning nearly all of the other positions

"We're young, so we're going to have to do a lot of teaching," Sawyer said. "We didn't have a (junior varsity) team last year and that doesn't help."

Junior David Dunn (5-10, 160) has earned the starting quarterback's spot.

"He played a little at the end of games (in 2008)," said Sawyer. "He'll be all right."

There is even some depth at the position this year.

"We've got a good freshman quarterback who is pushing (Dunn) and that's good," Sawyer said.

That would be Levi Jordan, who led the George Washington Middle School squad last season.

"Te're pretty solid at quarterback," Sawyer said. "We're getting the offense down."

He expects to mix up the pass and run this season.

"We went from more of a passing type team a couple of years ago to more of a running team last year," Sawyer said. "This year it should be more balanced."

Besides a lack of experience the Bison will also be battling the tough schedule of opponents to which Sawyer alluded.

Buffalo is set to face three Class A teams that qualified for last year's playoffs and two Class AA qualifiers.

Then there is Sciotoville Community High out of Portsmouth that finished last season 9-2 after advancing to the Ohio Division VI playoffs.

Buffalo goes there on Sept. 18.

"We have a tough schedule, so we need to be consistent," Sawyer said.

The Bison open with three straight home games, beginning with Gilbert on Aug. 28.

Contact sportswriter J.T. Simms at jtsimms@dailymail.com or 304-348-1735.

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