Kenmore West quarterback Marcus Lobdell hands off to running back Martin Bailey during a scrimmage at Clarence High School last Saturday. The Blue Devils open up at North Tonawanda on Friday night. Photo by Patrick McPartland Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com The Kenmore West Blue Devils varsity football team appeared to be heading for a lost season in 2009. Five games in, the Blue Devils found themselves at 0-5 and on the verge of disaster. The season turned around though when the Blue Devils found themselves a quarterback.

Marcus Lobdell, a sophomore last season, moved from wide receiver to starting quarterback during the season and helped lead the Blue Devils to three wins in their last four games. In his abbreviated time as a starter, he accounted for over 1,200 all-purpose yards.

Kenmore West head coach Rich Harris said it was no secret that Lobdell was the biggest key to the Blue Devils’ late-season surge.

“He’s one of our better athletes and he grew into that role,” Harris said of Lobdell’s switch to quarterback. “He can run the option and he can throw. He generated our biggest turnaround on offense.”

Kenmore East quarterback Trevor Willison fakes the handoff as the Bulldogs scrimmage at Amherst High School last Saturday. Ken East opens its season Saturday afternoon at Sweet Home. Photo by Patrick McPartland Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com Now as a junior, Lobdell will look to continue to grow into the role in his first full season as a starter. He will be complimented by plenty of weapons on the offensive side.

Kenmore West’s most dangerous weapon is junior running back Martin Bailey. A tiny spark plug at just five-foot-eight, 155 pounds, Bailey will be counted upon to break big plays in the running game for the Blue Devils. When the Blue Devils go to the air, wide receiver Christian Feickert, a senior, will be Lobdell’s main target. He will play the split end position. Senior captain Bobby Blackman returns as a threat in the passing game from the tight end position.

The Blue Devils have flash in the skill positions, but also feature toughness and experience in the trenches. Three-year starters and senior co-captains Alex Fumerelle and Ryan Meldrum return to anchor the offensive line along with fellow senior Mike Flessa. Junior Tyler Novo will man the pivot position at the center of the offensive line.

Most of Kenmore West’s key players play both offense and defense, including Lobdell, Bailey, Meldrum, Fumerelle, Blackman and Feickert. Returning starters on defense include juniors Niko Burgos and Mitch Meara on the defensive line and seniors Kevin Fitscher at linebacker and Peter Servis at safety.

The Blue Devils also have an interesting new player to keep an eye on in senior kicker Nick Fisher. A transfer from the soccer team, Fisher possesses a strong leg that can help the Blue Devils kicking game in 2010.

Kenmore West will be part of the newly realigned divisions in Section VI Class AA North this season. The new divisions include city schools that previously hadn’t had the chance to compete against the top teams in Western New York. Kenmore West will play city schools Hutch Tech and Riverside this season. Their division also includes defending Class AA State Champion North Tonawanda, Niagara Falls, Lockport and Williamsville North.

Harris hasn’t put to much thought into who the Blue Devils will face this season. He’s more concerned about getting his own team prepared to play when they kick off at North Tonawanda, the state champions, at 7 p.m. Friday.

“I’ve never been a guy to care for who we play against,” Harris said. “We just need to take it one week at a time and one day at a time. I’ll hold off judgement on the new format until we see how this first season goes.”

In order for the 2010 season to be successful, Kenmore West will have to get off to a much better start than the one they had in 2009 when they lost five in a row. West caught some unfortunate breaks that cost them some close games during the opening part of last season, including having two touchdowns called back by penalty against Niagara Falls and a fumble at the one-yard-line against Williamsville North while the Blue Devils were driving for the winning score with under 30 seconds to play. Harris says though that there’s no excuse not to get off to a fast start this season.

“It’s very important,” Harris said of a quick start by his team. “It’s especially important considering how tough the divisions are. It’s tough every week. We can’t let opportunities slip by.”

West will miss graduating seniors Zach Bouley, Dan Hannon and Warren Hemphill, all major contributors to last season’s team. They will bring in several players from last year’s JV squad that went 6-3 overall. Following their strong close to last season, Harris expects his team to be a winner in 2010 with the help of their returning players and new, full-time starting quarterback.

“I expect us to be a competitive football team,” Harris said. “Lobdell is coming into his own. It’s his first full year and he’s expected to do great things. He’ll have weapons around him and a big, strong defense. We have physical guys with experience, so I expect us to be competitive.”

Meanwhile, the Kenmore East Bulldogs will look to improve

after suffering through a disappointing 1-8 season in 2009. It ‘‘ won’t get any easier in 2010 as the Bulldogs lose starting quarterback Kevin Wagner, a participant in the Kensington Lions Club All-Star Game this past season. They will also play in the newly realigned Section VI Class A North, which will feature defending state champion Sweet Home as well as Grand Island, Williamsville East, Starpoint, McKinley and Niagara Wheatfield.

The Bulldogs have not qualified for the Section VI playoffs since 2000, though they did win the Section VI Class A Bowl Series, the postseason tournament set up for teams that don’t qualify for the sectional playoffs, in both 2007 and 2008.

In order for Kenmore East to get back to contention for a Section VI playoff birth, they will need top play from new starting quarterback Trevor Willison. A senior this year, Willison attempted just 15 passes last season behind Wagner, completing five of them. He had one rushing touchdown for the Bulldogs last season and also added 21 tackles on defense. Willison brings a versatile dimension to the Bulldog’s passing game.

“He’s a running quarterback,” Kenmore East head coach Matt Chimera said. “We ’ll run a lot of option. He did a great job last season and we’ll need him to step up this season.”

Other top returning players include senior offensive tackle and defensive end Josh Orta and senior defensive back John Alessandra, both team captains. Another top returning senior is offensive lineman Mark Kupco.

Despite the loss of Wagner and some other key players, Chimera believes his team has improved most on the offensive side of the ball.

“The offense has changed,” Chimera said. “We ’ve moved the ball quite well. We’ll see how it equates once the season begins. We hope to put more points on the board.”

Chimera believes his team has significantly improved in the red zone, where his team had trouble finishing drives last season.

“Last year we couldn’t score in the red zone,” Chimera said. “That cost us some close games. We hope we can improve there.”

Several of Kenmore East’s eight losses last season were close games right to the end. Chimera believes his returning players have learned from those losses and should now be prepared to find ways to win in 2010.

“We were in all but one game last season,” Chimera said. “We had a chance to win every game. We need to take the next step and finish games.”

Chimera was impressed by the performance of his team in their scrimmage at Amherst High School this past weekend as well as at practices throughout the month of August. He says his team still has a lot to work on though to prepare for their opener against defending state champion Sweet Home this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Sweet Home.

“It’s hard to make a prediction, but our goal is to beat Sweet Home and do something no team has done in two years,” Chimera said. “We need to iron out the little things first.”

e-mail: mmigliore@beenews.com