For high school football coaches with a great running back on a team otherwise lacking in experience, the best thing to have might be patience.

A solid offensive line probably would be high on the wish list, too.

The encouraging thing for Madisonville coach Greg Morgan is he might have both.

The Mustangs will enter the season with one of the nation's top-rated running backs in senior Chris Whaley. Madisonville also has lots of questions and plenty of holes to fill after losing 31 seniors from last year's playoff team that finished 9-2.

"Hopefully our program's at a point now that, regardless of what we've lost, the kids have been nurtured in an environment where we expect them to win and they expect to win every time they line up on the field, regardless of how many seniors you've lost," Morgan said. "That's where we want the program to be. Is it there? I don't know, but we hope it is."

Morgan is certain that Whaley, who has committed to sign with the University of Texas, is among the top running backs in the state. He also is aware of the fact that Whaley is one of a small class of seniors on the team, a group of about 12.

The Mustangs will surround Whaley with seven new starters on offense and nine on defense.

"Our No. 1 concern right now is finding some new people around him that can support him," Morgan said. "We're finding some replacements as we go through two-a-days, but we've still got some big question marks at certain positions."

Madisonville's offense linemen should be a plus. Led by returning starters Colby Crowson at guard and Donald Schweter at center, the offensive line has been one of the highlights of the Mustangs' preseason workouts. Dionicio Castillo and Johnny Osborne also are key members of the unit.

"One pleasant surprise has been our offensive line," Morgan said. "It has looked really good. To have that in front of Chris is very encouraging."

The Mustangs also have a pair of talented junior receivers in Brock Taylor and Howard Harris. Taylor led the team in receptions last fall and qualified for the state track meet in the 100 meters this spring.

"We're expecting big things from Brock," Morgan said. "He and Howard are tremendous athletes."

Two weeks into preseason workouts, three players were still vying for the starting quarterback position. The candidates are junior Jake Baker, senior Morgan Meyer and sophomore Dalton McVey.

"Quarterback has been a concern of ours since last year," Morgan said. "All three guys came back a little better than we anticipated. We still have quite the battle at quarterback."

The only returning starters on Madisonville's defense are nose guard Schweter and cornerback Harris, who led the team with seven interceptions last year.

Madisonville will need major contributions from new starters Crowson and Quinton Bryan at linebacker, where the Mustangs must replace two starters who moved on to play in college.

"Linebacker is where we have to start on defense," Morgan said. "Those two young guys don't have any varsity experience there, but they are looking good at practice. They're going to be on a learning curve, obviously."

Because of their inexperience, the Mustangs will operate with many more two-way starters than in recent seasons. Morgan said from seven to nine Mustangs could play regularly on offense and defense.

"We'll have a ton of kids going both ways this year," Morgan said. "We would have one or two, maybe three, at times in the past."

Morgan expects Madisonville to face several strong teams in the revamped District 24-3A. He rates Navasota as the favorite, with Rockdale, Cameron and Caldwell in the next tier of teams competing to make the playoffs.

The Mustangs will open the season by hosting Groesbeck on Aug. 29. Madisonville will visit rival Navasota in the final week of the regular season.