EAST PROVIDENCE — Year two of the Jay Monteiro era as head coach of the East Providence High School football program begins for real this weekend when the Townies play host to five-time reigning state champion Bishop Hendricken Friday night, Sept. 18, at Pierce Stadium in the Division I regular season opener for both outfits.

The Townies compiled a 2-6 record in league games in Coach Monteiro's first season. In 2015, East Providence is hoping to possibly earn one of the last of the four berths into the state championship playoffs, a task that could be aided by retooling efforts currently taking place at both Portsmouth and Barrington, who along with Cranston East have been the other perennial postseason contenders in recent years.

As for the top of the league, Hendricken and LaSalle continue to set the standard for the rest of Division I. The Hawks have participated in the last six state title tilts. The Rams, the Townies' long-time rivals, have played in four of the last seven championship games since winning in 2008 and including a 32-7 loss to Hendricken last fall.

"The top two teams are obviously LaSalle and Hendricken. I hear Cumberland is really good. And I still put Portsmouth up there. I hear Cranston East is still good and Cranston West is down. I know Barrington is down. And South Kingstown, I don't much about," Coach Monteiro said of the league vibe heading into the season. "But I feel every team is a good team until you go out and beat them. I think we could be a playoff team, but we have to beat the teams we're supposed to beat."

As for his East Providence squad, Coach Monteiro's Townies begin the regular season with a senior-laden group but one that lacks much actual game experience.

"I don't know where we are right now," said Coach Monteiro. "I can see us being a playoff team, but we've got to work harder. I really think we can be a playoff team, but the kids have to want it."

On offense, the Townies start with a line of senior co-captain and the lone returning starter up front, Tyler Benedetti at left tackle. Senior Dante Parrilla and junior Andrew Rodriques will man the guard positions with senior Ted Rogers at center and senior James Nicoll at right tackle. Senior Cameron Almeida is the starting tight end.

The quarterbacks are junior returning starter Ryan Ellinwood and junior back-up Riley Cronin.

The running backs include senior Mario Peoples, senior Tommy Lopes and senior James Freeman. East Providence, however, has already been beset by a pair of key injuries in the backfield. Senior co-captain Aaron Amaral, also penciled in as the team's top returning linebacker on defense, suffered a knee injury in the offseason which will keep him out all fall. Fellow senior Justin Johnson had his promising final high school season cut short in last week's non-league game against Mt. Pleasant as he suffered a broken leg.

On the perimeter, senior Charles Hazzard and senior co-captain Jayden Chase, the third returning starter on offense, are the Townies' primary receivers.

"We're actually a really young team. We don't have a lot of experience," Coach Monteiro said. "We have a lot of seniors playing, but this is their first time starting. We lost Aaron, who led us last year with 120 tackles and five interceptions. And JJ was looking like my best back this year. Losing those two is big. We need other guys to step up."

Defensively, where the Townies line up in a 4-3 formation, Benedetti, Rogers, Almeida and senior John Suliveiras open on the line. Peoples, senior MJ Hall and senior Dylan Bochichio are linebackers. Senior co-captain Paulo Pereira, Chase, Hazzard and Lopes are defensive backs with junior Steve Simpson and sophomore Jaren Alves, also a wide out, expected to see time.

The Townies have played six quarters of football to date, losing to St. Raphael, 8-7, two weeks ago in the Injury Fund despite only allowing 12 yards rushing in 24 minutes of action. The Townies then thumped Mt. Pleasean, 37-6, in a full 48-minute non-league outing last week.

"I have a really good coaching staff this year, which is helping me build the program," Coach Monteiro added. "I thought we played well in the Injury Fund against St. Ray's even though we lost and I thought we played sloppy against a young Mt. Pleasant team last week even though we won. This week is going to be our first test against a D-I team. Hopefully against Hendricken we cross our Ts and dot our Is because they're a really good team."

The Townies and Hawks kick off the 2015 regular season Friday night at 7 o'clock.