Fans of the smashmouth style of football that Keystone Oaks has displayed over the past couple of years will have to turn elsewhere for their destruction fix.

Head coach Nick Kamberis and his staff have been phasing in a new style of play on both sides of the football that will display the athletic prowess of the athletes in the system, rather than the "run-first" style of offense and the big, run-stopping linemen on defense that fans of the program have become accustomed to.

"This is a rebuilding year for us," Kamberis said. "We lost a lot of great kids, 23 seniors."

However, Kamberis is confident in the changes that his young team, which is built on speed, can produce.

On offense, the Golden Eagles will spread the field and rely on their skill- position players to make plays down- field, Kamberis said.

"Before, our philosophy was run first, run often and then pass," Kamberis said. "Now, we will pass first, pass often, knowing that we have Johnny (Fuhrer) back there."

The pass-first scheme will depend greatly upon the Golden Eagles new starting quarterback, junior Corey Bellovich.

Bellovich, who is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, will facilitate the new offense, using his athletic ability and strong arm. Last year, under quarterback Chris DeFrancesco, Keystone Oaks depended on leadership and field management from the quarterback position. This year, that role will change.

"Corey is the star of the hoops team, very athletic. We're very high on him," Kamberis said. "He's got

Division 1 capabilities. He has great arm strength and athletic ability in general. Defran was good at managing the football team. We called him the general. Bellovich is a straight athlete."

With Bellovich, the team may pass more, but opposing fans and defenses know that at least for one more year, they will have to contend with Fuhrer, a senior running back.

As a junior last year, Fuhrer rushed for 1,888 yards. As a sophomore, Fuhrer rushed for 1,200 yards and now is closing in on 4,000 yards over his distinguished career.

"He'll (Fuhrer) still get his touches," Kamberis said. "We'll find ways to get him the ball 20 to 30 times a game. Whether it's a swing pass or screen passes, we'll find a way to get him the ball."

For their new spread offense to work, the Golden Eagles will depend upon other skill-position players.

Wide receivers R.J. Wingertsahn and Jon Lorenzi, both seniors, will be able to get downfield and challenge defenses with their athletic ability and strong pass-catching skills.

Also in the backfield, freshman Dion Wigand will see time complementing Fuhrer in the Golden Eagle running game, Kamberis said.

A challenge the Keystone Oaks coaches have had to deal with on offense has been the line.

The Golden Eagles offensive line graduated eight players last year and will return only one starter, senior center Corey Hudson, who is captain of the team.

The line will be complemented with seniors David Kile and Joey Skrip, who have been showing promise and have been developing at a fast pace.

Equal to the offense's new task, the defense will provide an exciting brand of play, marked by speed and athletic ability, Kamberis said.

"Our strength will be our linebackers," Kamberis said. "It's more system over players. Our inside and outside zone is not about strength, it's about speed and quickness."

Last season's leading tackler, senior middle linebacker John Kazallas, is returning to lead a defense that will feature many of its players at new positions, Kamberis said.

The faster defense will showcase Fuhrer at strong safety, and freshman linebacker Matt McCann will contribute at several positions.

"He (McCann) has a chance to be really special," Kamberis said.

Another key returnee is junior kicker Travis Mitro.

"Travis has 50-yard potential on field goals and he has been kicking the ball into the end zone on kickoffs," Kamberis said.

"That could be a huge weapon."

Keystone Oaks finished (6-3) last year and the Golden Eagles were bounced from the playoffs in the first round by Hampton, a performance the team looks to learn from and build upon, Kamberis said.

"Hopefully they got a taste of that playoff experience and will want to get back there this year," Kamberis said.