The Washington football team went on a postseason run of historic proportions last season, four wins that uplifted a program and rallied a community around one common cause. The one-point loss to East Lincoln was heartbreaking, but the success set a new standard for the Pam Pack. No longer an unrealistic delusion, capturing a 2-A state title is now the ultimate objective for the team with high expectations.

It’s been eight months since the Pack walked off the BB&T Field in Winston-Salem as state runners-up and now the mission is to reload, retool and piece together the 40-man puzzle in hopes of becoming yet another playoff threat come November. A once senior-laden roster is now full of unproven youth, as head coach Sport Sawyer looks to compensate for the loss of 26 seniors, most of whom were starters.

When asked about the massive loss of veteran leadership, Sawyer said, “That’s the big question. They work hard, lifted weights, were present all summer and did track. They’ve done the things we’ve asked them to do to get better, but that being said, you have to go on the field and be a player. There’s some talent there, but at the same time you have to execute.”

Last season is now just a chapter along the Long Blue Line of Pam Pack history. The 2015 team will be tasked with trudging through one of the toughest 11-game schedules in recent memory, including what’s expected to be a marginally improved Eastern Plains Conference and nonconference games against Havelock, D.H. Conley, Roanoke Rapids and Plymouth.

The offensive focal point is a strong, tough and experienced line that should provide an important cushion for a mostly inexperienced backfield. Connor Sawyer, Neil Jennings and Joe Randolph, the projected starting linemen, have 670 pounds and eight years of varsity experience between them. So far, the senior trio has provided most of the team’s vocal leadership in the weight room and on the practice field.

“You have a core of leadership on the O-line,” Sawyer said. “Having a veteran O-line gives the young guys in the backfield a chance to develop. On the defensive side, we graduated our D-line, but you have two middle linebackers that are the core of everything on defense, so we’re fortunate in that aspect.”

It’s difficult to find a pair of linebackers with more varsity experience, more tackles and more athleticism than Lexroy Brown and Brandon Jackson. With a combined seven years of varsity experience, including three years competing at the 3-A level, the duo has been the Pam Pack’s mobile brick wall on defense. Brown, who earned 2014 Washington Daily News Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors as a junior, racked up 185 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception last season, while Jackson, who leads all active players in tackles for their career, notched 151 tackles and six sacks. Sawyer sees his pair of linebackers as the key to supporting a young defensive line.

“Our D-line doesn’t necessarily have to dominate, but if they can keep people off Lexroy and Brandon, both of those guys can cover side to side with the field,” he said.

If opposing squads have learned anything through the last couple of seasons, it’s that the Pam Pack defense should not be underestimated. It’s been the most integral part of the team’s perfect 10-0 Eastern Plains Conference record two years into the new table.

Washington opens the 2015 campaign at home against Havelock on Aug. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Matched up against a 3-A team accustomed to deep postseason runs, it should be a good test of strength and character for a young Pam Pack.