The Pioneers lose their best player, quarterback Renaul Drummond, who threw 14 touchdown passes, just seven interceptions, and finished first in Dade with 1,833 yards passing. Mike St. Hubert, the backup last season, is the front-runner to replace Drummond but could be challenged by two baseball players, Adam Thomas (whose brother Chris played quarterback at North Miami earlier in the decade) and Joe Cathey.

Running back could be North Miami's strongest position, with Adlai Gardiner and Andre Joseph both returning. Aristide wants to use a two-back offense with Jean Hyacinthe and Ernie Henderson competing for the fullback position. Aristide also will add a tight end to the offense, probably Kevin Lloyd.

North Miami suffered several losses on the offensive line and at receiver. Tackle Francisco Burrows is the only returning lineman, and Eddie Escarment, Victor Gil and Balter Exceus compete to become first-time starters at receiver. The Pioneers must replace Wood Jean Charles, who finished sixth in Dade with 35 receptions for 530 yards and five touchdowns.

``I'm concerned about our lack of speed,'' Aristide said.

Defensively, Travis Hall is the only returning lineman. Steve Mesamour, Steve Josue and James Lavilitte will challenge for playing time.

Linebackers Mike Michel and Seth Claude might be the strength of the defense. ``Claude could be the key to what we do,'' Aristide said. ``He's something special -- one of the fastest players on the team.''

There will be two new starters at safety, probably Clinton Preston and Lorenzo Covington. Raymond Graham and Sonny Pierre, part-time starters last season, likely will be the starting cornerbacks.

The Chargers will have to replace quarterback Patrick Sinois, who was erratic in his senior season. Clarence Coleman, the quarterback on NMB's junior varsity team, is the likely replacement but could face competition from Ralph Pagan.

The offensive backfield is NMB's strength. The Chargers' top three runners return -- tailback Tony Hyppolite (who rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last three games), fullback Tarik Reid, and Travis Dunn, who can play tailback and fullback.

But who will block for Hyppolite and the others? Tackle Warren Squire is the only returning lineman. ``We're very young and inexperienced on the line,'' Altheide said.

Edward King returns at one wide receiver position, and Travis Jacobs might claim the other starting receiver job. ``We're much faster this year,'' Altheide said.

Defensively, only three starters return from a unit that ranked seventh in Dade, allowing just 195.5 yards per game. They are tackle Jean Ganthier, cornerback Calixte Defay and safety Teddy Thomas. The Chargers lose standouts Thomas Carter, Demetrius Woods, Marc Lorme and Ishmail Thompkins.

``We'll have to see what we have,'' Altheide said. ``Bryon Johnson and Jermaine Robinson could step in at linebacker. And we could look at Teddy Thomas at quarterback.''

``Tim Daniels will be able to do the job on the defensive line,'' Norland Coach John Osborne said. ``I will be more involved in the defense than I was in my first seven seasons here.''

The offense looks stronger. Young returns at quarterback and will not have to fight off a challenge from Denard Parks, who decided to concentrate on basketball. ``I'm pleased with Ahmad's progress,'' Osborne said. ``But he has to cut down on mistakes.''

Norland lost talented receiver Cainon Lamb, but Ewan Brown and David Permenter return, and Pearson Sutton also could step in. The offensive line has three returning starters -- center Jeremy Greaves, tackle Vernon Carey and guard Bevin England.

The key to the offense could be finding a suitable replacement for starting tailback Michael Durden. It could be Cedric Pitts, a backup last season.

Osborne's outlook? ``We have less coming back than any time I've been at Norland, but I feel better than ever before because we now have one of the best off-season [conditioning] programs.''