Westhampton Beach - The offensive line is the foundation to a winning football team. Westhampton Beach football coach Bill Parry understands that better than anybody. The longtime Hurricanes coach knows full well that tackle Justin Lagrasse, center Bobby Garone and the rest of the Hurricane linemen hold the key to their teammates' success and the key to their season.

"I think if the line comes together and jells, get off the ball and we hold our own, I expect us to be competitive," Parry said. "What does that mean? I'm not really sure. I hope that we could play for one of those playoff spots. It all depends on how well we do up front."

The offensive line suffered a number of losses due to graduation and now must rebound quickly for a tough Division III schedule.

At 6-foot-0, 230 pounds, Lagrasse is the biggest of the five suspected starters up front, a sharp contrast from the 260- and 250-pound bookends from a year ago. Playing with undersized linemen isn't necessarily unfamiliar territory for the Hurricanes, who have competed at a high level almost on an annual basis being outsized. This year is just especially noticeable as Westhampton will start a number of underclassmen in the place of the talented class of seniors who graduated in the spring, including Mike Aydinian, Kevin Sabo, Jake Mainzer, John West, Mike Debellis. They led Westhampton's charge from an 0-3 mark back to 4-4, which drew the eighth seed in the Division III playoffs. The Hurricanes were knocked out by top-ranked Sayville, 42-6.

"We're going to be very young, and we're pretty small because we're young," Parry said.

The beneficiary of the line paving the way to the end zone is running back Vance Schindler, who teamed with Sabo and Aydinian in the backfield last year. Schindler will get the bulk of the carries now with younger talent likely to spell him from time to time. Whether Schindler can handle a full workload will be determined when the Hurricanes open at Deer Park on Saturday.

"I think we'll split it up quite a bit," Parry said. "I'm not sure he's durable enough to take 20 carries a game, but I guess we'll find out."

In addition to Schindler's experience, another luxury in the offensive backfield is a duo of experienced quarterbacks, each of whom also figures top lay in the defensive secondary. Senior Cory Hubbard returns after starting last year under center. He isn't guaranteed all the snaps, though, with Cory Schulz a formidable presence in the huddle as well. His presence there would allow Hubbard to line up out wide where he played during three games last year; Christian Cuizio was also a major target at receiver.

"Hubbard's a great leader and an excellent runner; Schulz is a good runner but throws the ball a little bit better," Parry said. "It will depend on what situation and what week we're in. They're both small, they're both going to get nicked up, so we'll use them both."

Vance Schindler will be asked to shoulder much of the load in Westhampton's ground game.

Many of the key cogs on offense will man a position on the defense as well. Mike Ramos, a tight end on the attack, should be among the leading tacklers from his linebacker position.

With the amount of inexperience on the roster, Parry's going to be tinkering with the lead group in the early going. He can only tinker so much as the numbers are down - the headcount ordinarily runs in the mid- to upper-20s; this year, he's working with numbers in the high teens to low-20s. They'll all learn what they're made of quickly, immediately facing three teams that figure to challenge for one of eight playoff berths. The Hurricanes, who were seeded 10th out of 14 teams in the pre-season poll, visit seventh-seeded Deer Park on Sept. 12 for a 2 p.m. kickoff and come back five days later to host No. 6 Rocky Point. In Week 3, Westhampton stops by Islip to face the second-seeded Buccaneers.

If the 'Canes can manage their way through that gauntlet, the road gets considerably easier. East Hampton, Comsewogue and Eastport-South Manor went a combined 2-22 last fall, with a 31-0 rout of Comsewogue helping Westhampton claim the eighth and final playoff spot. Miller Place and Hauppauge, both high seeds in 2008, won't be easy hurdles to clear, even though the Panthers drew the 12th seed.

Other squads may be bigger and stronger, but the question for Westhampton is whether its offensive and defensive lines can be better.

"The offensive line is the key," Parry said. "If we come together and play well, we're going to be O.K. We're certainly not going to outmatch anybody size-wise. We're going to need to get off the ball, be fast and be physical. I think we have the potential. We just have to put it all together."

WESTHAMPTON HURRICANES 2009 SCHEDULE
Sat., Sept. 12 at Deer Park 2 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 17 ROCKY POINT 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 25 at Islip 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 3 at Miller Place 1:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 9 EAST HAMPTON/BRIDGEHAMPTON/PIERSON 6:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 17 at Hauppauge 5 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 23 COMSEWOGUE 6:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 30 EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR 6:30 p.m.