The North Branford football team has its sights set higher than last season’s 7-4 record in large part due to a wealth of experience returning to Ed Colafati Field.

The Thunderbirds have 24 seniors suiting up this season, including a bevy of playmakers all over the field. The most important will be under center. Captain and quarterback Eddie Miller is the straw that will stir the drink that is North Branford’s offense according to Head Coach Mark Basil.

“He’s a huge part of what we do. He’s spent a lot of time this summer working with my son [former QB Brandon Basil] and with other quarterbacks to understand things a little bit better and to see the field and slow down the game a little bit by understanding what to expect,” Basil said. “The year of experience has really helped him be able to understand and see things better. He’s a gifted athlete, he can throw, and he can run, so he just has to know that the tempo or the pulse of the offense goes through him and he has to keep his cool. I think Eddie is going to do a good job.”

Miller has plenty of weapons around him to make things happen. The biggest playmaker may be senior receiver Austin Calamita. As a junior, Calamita hauled in 30 balls for 833 yards through the air, and hit pay dirt 11 times while being a key member of North Branford’s offensive and special teams units. Basil intends to use him all over the field once again to create matchup problems.

“He has great speed. He’s one of the fastest kids, if not the fastest kid on the team. We’re going to put him in a number of different spots on the offense,” Basil said. “He might be a wideout, he might be in the slot, we’re certainly going to utilize everything that he offers. He can run the ball and he can catch the ball. He’s going to help keep guys out of the box to stop our run.”

The run is always a focal point of North Branford’s offensive attack, and Basil has a three-headed monster to utilize, not counting Miller who ran for 652 yards himself last season. Shelby Franklin, Christian Iuteri, and Cory Seymour are expected to be Basil’s idea of “earth, wind, and fire” on the ground.

“Cory Seymour is going to be very much like Josh [Melaccio] was. He’s the big physical kid that’s going to bang out the tough years. Christian Iuteri is probably the quickest stop and start player on the field. He’s very quick and elusive, doesn’t bring the power running game, but can certainly catch the ball out of the backfield and do a number of things,” Basil said of his earth and wind runners. “Shelby Franklin is probably the most gifted. He’s got great hands, he has great speed, he’s a strong kid, and we’re bringing him in from the slot to utilize him on both sides of the field at the scat back position. Shelby brings a blend of both of those guys so it’s nice to have that luxury of going big, going quick, and going a little bit of both.”

Basil expects his offensive and defensive line to dominate on both ends due to their strength and speed. The group will be anchored by captains Mike Kaiser and Lou Distasio who were both First Team All-Pequot selections a year ago.

“What makes this offensive and defense live more unique than ones I’ve had in the past, are not only are they big and strong, but they’re fast,” Basil said. “They’re a focused group. Kaiser and Distasio both physically and mentally are going to lead that group of guys. We have some nice size up front and I think those guys are going to dictate how the game is going to be played inside.”

The experience of the squad should work in their favor, as Basil noted two close losses following a 4-0 start to the 2013 season derailed the team’s confidence and led them to just a seven-win campaign. Against Avon, North Branford was winning with two minutes to go, but allowed 10 points to lose in the final seconds. Then, against Valley, the T-Birds were even through most of the first half, but allowed 10 points in the final few moments of the half and couldn’t recover.

“Those are the situations that they have to be able to capitalize on and turn the tables. They know that, they’ve been reminded of that already. All good teams learn from those kinds of experiences and I expect this group to do the same,” Basil said. “They know that I can do so much from the sidelines, and they have to be able to exude that on the playing field. I think the year of experience and the situations that they had to play through will help bring that this year.”