Head coach: Mark Mariakis (15-17 in three years here; 105-101 overall)
Returning starters: 6 offensive; 7 defensive
Key players: OL-DL Keano Roberts (6-5, 305); OL-DL Colt Sinor (6-3, 290); RB-FS Roderick Young (5-7, 155); RB-OLB Damarcus Hinton (5-9, 160), QB Sam Hall (5-11, 155), RB-OLB Traveon "Tink" Scott (6-0, 190), TE-LB Treveon "Cheese" Scott (6-2, 220), RB-DB JaMichael Baxter (5-7, 160).
Team strengths: The junior and senior classes are strong, particularly in the offensive backfield where the Chargers will have more speed than in recent years. Young, a senior, and juniors Scott, Baxter and Hall, plus several receivers with better than average speed, give them plenty of big-play potential.
Team concerns: Aside from Roberts and Sinor, both seniors, CCS is not very big up front, and there is very little experienced depth on either side of the line.
Breakout candidate: Baxter, who injured a knee just before the season began last year, is back healthy and brings an explosiveness to the backfield. The junior is the fastest player on the roster and proved he's completely healed when he ran track last spring.
Season outlook: The Chargers open the season against an extremely tough three-game stretch - McCallie, at Baylor and defending 1A champion Whitwell - before settling in for six straight region games.
"We want to come out of those first three games knowing who we are and hopefully find the depth we'll need to be ready for our region games," Mariakis said. "Opening up against those three should help us answer any lingering questions about what we can do, and then we'll have an off week to gauge where we are before getting ready for the region.
Beyond a talented group of juniors and seniors, CCS also has an exciting freshman class that should be ready to help by the second half of the season, once those ninth-graders gain varsity experience.
"We don't have the brute size to mow people down, so we'll need to be technique oriented up front," Mariakis added. "We'll have some kids who will start the season without much game experience, but we feel good about their ability to become playmakers."