Ra'Von Burton doesn't want to talk about last year. But he does want to take the same approach he and his team did last year as they marched into the District 11 Class 2A final against Pen Argyl, only to have a loss to the defending champions place a temporary damper on their program.

"We just need to take one game at a time," stressed the senior on the eve of the beginning of practice that began Monday morning. "We did that all through last year. But after a while, we became too content.

"We can't let that happen again."

Burton will begin his final season off a year in which he rushed for over 1,600 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. He again will be the focus of the offense and realizes there won't be any second chances.

"I have mixed emotions about this season," said Burton. "I'm sad because I know this is my final season, but I can't wait to get out there. This will be the last time that I will be playing with guys that I grew up with.

"This is my last season as a Rough Rider and I don't want it to end too soon."

Burton noted the team's seniors got together during the 10-day period that head coach Tom Falzone isn't allowed to make contact with the team, and they made the most of the opportunity.

"A bunch of us guys got together to go over some plays and bond," said Burton. "We wanted to do whatever we could to help us get better. We also wanted to get closer as a team."

Burton also worked on his own game during the summer. He knows he will be playing both sides of the ball this fall, manning the middle from a linebacker spot on defense.

"I worked on my agility," he said. "I also knew I had to work on my overall speed and cuts. Playing both sides of the ball all the time will be different and it will present me with a new series of challenges. I still like playing offense, but I will enjoy blitzing on downs."

Peeling through various college offers for next season. Burton is leaning toward Colgate University, where he would play football and pursue a major in criminal justice and a minor in business administration.

Until then, however, Burton believes his team might be ahead of the curve as they have had a busy summer with this visits to five passing camps.

"In some ways, we are," said Burton on his team's progress. "We have been working on our plays. We lost some people from last year's team, but we have a number of people back. It is not like we are starting from the beginning.

"We have been looking good and we're ready. We know teams will be gunning for us and we'll have the targets on our backs. But we're confident and we'll take it game-by-game."