In the wake of its memorable 2006 campaign, the Mount Si High School football program finished the 2007 season at 5-5.

However, with Charlie Kinnune returning for his 17th season as Wildcat coach, fans have a lot to a lot to be excited about in what becomes a weaker Kingco 3A conference with the elevation of Issaquah, Skyline and Newport to 4A this fall.

“Everyone’s looking forward to it, especially us seniors. (It’s our) last season together and it’s looking like we’re going to have a pretty good season,” said senior tight end Alex Hiebert.

Kinnune brings back a solid returning core of talent. That group is senior-laden, and is led by quarterback Tyson Riley.

Riley says fans can expect “a big, powerful team that’s going to show a lot more than they did last year on offense.” That offensive unit will be piloted on the ground by running back Sean Snead. There is solid depth at wide receiver as well, with Ryan Frazier, Josh Snow, Garrett Pittis and Winson Sharps expected to see significant playing time this season. The line should be a strength of the team, with Ryan Ransavage, Aaron Moetului, Michael Nelson, Paul Haller, Trevor Howland, and Zach Brevick expected to lead the way there.

A number of juniors also are likely to make sizeable contributions. One player Kinnune wants fans to pay attention to is linebacker/offensive lineman Ahmad Korma, but others from the class of 2010 who will see action include Chaz and Code Blair, Rossco Castagno, Eric and Josh Murphy, Donny Hendrickson, and Jordin Kinnune. Sophomores who could get a look include Matt Bankston and Robert Sharps.

Special teams are expected to be strong as well, as sophomore soccer goalkeeper Ryan Herman is on the football team this fall and will be handling placekicking duties. Those who have seen him on the soccer field know he can send the ball a long way, so football fans have a lot to be look forward to with the new kicker.

“We’re very, very excited about him and he’s doing a real nice job with his kickoffs,” Kinnune said.

The schedule is expected to be quite tough, especially early, with three big early tests against Eastlake, Issaquah and Bellevue.

“It’s an accelerated schedule and tough, and we’re going to find out where we are right away,” Kinnune said. That said, look for the Wildcats and Bellevue to be 1-2 in the new 3A alignment, with Mercer Island, Liberty and Juanita likely being the teams that could most surprise this season.

For the coaches, finishing at the top of the league standings is the goal.

“We want to get a home (play-off) game right here and play in front of our fans,” Kinnune said. The top two teams in Kingco 3A will get to play the play-in round game at home, and as fans will remember, Mount Si in 2006 played that round at home and made quick work of Kelso in that game.

Regardless of the outcome, there is one thing the coaches want to see.

“What’s important for us is that we continue to improve every week, and good teams get better every week,” Kinnune said.

Senior Brandon Smith says his teammates have stayed busy this summer preparing for the season.

“We’ve been training all summer,” he said. “Everyone’s been working really hard weightlifting. We’re a lot stronger and we’re a lot faster.”

Riley says that work ethic has to continue in order for the team to be successful, and he hopes to provide strong leadership in this area.

The team needs to “make sure everybody practices hard every day,” stay in the weight room, and stay healthy, Riley said. The ‘Cats “can’t take any time off,” he added.

Smith has an eye on the future.

“I think we can go all the way,” he said.