By ALEX SPONSELLER The Pilgrim football team had arguably its best season ever in 2019, rolling to an undefeated record and winning its first championship since 1975.

The Pats will have their hands full this spring, moving up a division and looking to return to the playoffs as defending Division III champs.

Of course, the lay of the land will be different as the state pushed football into the third season which will take place in March and April. Kickoff is slated for March 26th, and teams have just begun to practice recently.

Pilgrim graduated 20 seniors from its championship team and will have to adjust fast this time around, especially considering the unusual preseason it is in the middle of.

“It’s been a bit of a slow start because of the pandemic. Having kids playing basketball, working with kids that we haven’t met yet since it’s now the spring season, there’s been some adversity. We’d rather have the standard summer with 7-on-7’s, conditioning practices, scrimmages. But we’re lucky to have a good relationship with Northeast Training, our guys were in there three days a week to get their bodies ready for the season,” said Pilgrim head coach Blake Simpson.

All eyes will be on junior quarterback Connor Widmer, who is currently atop the depth chart and is set to take over the starting spot next week.

Widmer was the team’s backup signal caller behind Mike Borges last season, who was one of the state’s best players during the team’s title run.

“He learned a lot as a backup behind Borges. He’s very prepared for this season. He’s done a lot of studying on his own and has done a lot of work with our offensive coordinator,” said Simpson.

With such a new, young group of players looking to make an impact early on, Simpson hopes the team will remember what it took to go the distance in a tough division while also being prepared to face another uphill climb in DII.

“It was valuable for them seeing what it takes to get there. But now, especially moving up a division, it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. I think they’re going to go out there and do their best and us as a coaching staff, we’re going to prepare them the same way we would any other team,” said SImpson.

With the late start to the season, the coaching staff more than anything wants to see the team stay healthy and enjoy getting a chance to hit the gridiron … something that was in doubt just a few months back.

“The only thing I see that could be a challenge is if a kid gets a serious injury. That may be tough for them to overcome in time for the following fall,” said Simpson. “But these kids love playing football, it doesn't matter if it’s fall or spring. We’re just excited to be back here.”