— KEYSER, W.Va. — Entering his seventh season as head coach at his alma mater, Sean Biser continues to let the little things stand between him and the big picture.

That is because, to Biser, football is all about the small stuff.

“You ask most teams and they’ll tell you that their goals are to ‘go undefeated, beat your rival, make the playoffs and win a state championship,’ but in between here and that goal are a whole lot of little things that need to be done right. If you can take care of all of those little things the big picture tends to fall into place.”

After leading the 2008 team to a 10-1 record and to the second round of the Class AA playoffs, Biser found out just how important the small stuff is when he had to replace entire sections of the team with inexperienced players.

“Last year we started with kids in what we thought were the right spots, but we had to move them after we got a little more time to see them and they got a little better every day.”

Being better tomorrow than you were today is the only expectation Biser places on his players.

“It’s been our thing since I’ve gotten here. We carry it over from year to year, and the players know about it. It goes with what I said earlier, if you get a little better each day and cover all of the small things, then the wins start coming. If you don’t focus on all of the little things the big picture won’t matter anyway.”

One thing that Biser doesn’t have to worry about like he did last year was who will be lining up at quarterback.

Tyler Biser (5-feet-11, 165 pounds, Senior) returns to the position after throwing all but two of the Golden Tornado’s passes last season.

He threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns as well as running for an extra 386 yards and two more touchdowns.

Unsure if he was going to be the quarterback going into last season, Biser has had more time to prepare for playing the position this past off season.

Having a quarterback that can run as well as throw fits in with Biser’s scheme, which gives the quarterback the option of running or passing.

“A lot of our plays involve a run-pass option, and we just want the quarterback to make a smart decision with the ball. If the pass is there take it, if not tuck it and run.”

Senior Levi Ebert (6-0, 160) brings a strong arm to the quarterback competition, and has experience as the jayvee quarterback.

Gaining the starting job at fullback after seeing some time there last season is Kodie Evans, a 5-9, 200-pound senior, who should see his workload increase from last season’s 19 carries.

Wes Washington (5-11, 165, Sr.) moves in from wide receiver to take over one of the halfback spots.

Brandon Clay (6-2, 155, Jr.) has also been taking handoffs from the halfback slot, with freshman Cody Eversole (5-8, 125) and Blake Ravenscroft (5-7, 125) also getting into the mix with the younger kids.

Ethan Larue (6-1, 220, Sr.), J.R. Flint (6-1, 154, So.) and Eric Lewis (5-8, 150, Jr.) have been sharing the wingback duties.

Austin Ravenscroft (5-7, 160, So.) and Danny Fife (5-8, 190, Fr.) are also getting looks in the backfield.

Keyser turns to returning starter Jonathan Moats (6-5, 210, Sr.) and Wyatt Nelson (6-2, 185, Jr.), who saw plenty of action as a sophomore, at tight end.

“You can go a couple of seasons and never have a tight end, and now we have two guys who can play there,” Biser said.

After starting part of last season, senior Aaron Nelson (5-11, 260) looks to have tightened his hold on one tackle position, while Colin Fox (5-11, 190, Jr.) battles Josh Napier at the other. Napier (6-1, 215, So.) has been rotating in at both tackle positions in hopes of adding depth to the Golden Tornado front.

“We aren’t very big,” he said. “But it’s not like we aren’t physical. We had a good off season and we are strong as a team, but it would be nice to be a little bigger all across the roster.”

One of the two guard spots will be manned by 6-2 and 220 pounds of Damon Thorne, a senior and returning starter. Junior Mike Mallow (6-0, 200) has been working in at guard along with Dakota Proud (6-3, 165, So.) and Brandon Bowman (5-9, 175, Jr.).

Caleb Staggs (5-11, 218, Jr.) has been looking good playing center, with Derek Wilt (6-1, 200, So.) backing him up.

Jordan Shaw (6-2, 214, So.) is also rotating among the offensive linemen.

Senior Kadeem Garland (5-6, 135) and junior Jamison Jones (6-0, 160) are splitting time out at split end, and Robbie Ellifritz (5-11, 137, Sr.) has also seen reps at the position.

On defense, Keyser will remain in the familiar 4-4 Biser employs.

Moats returns at one defensive end with Larue looking like he will be playing the other after lining up at tackle last year. Fox and Proud have also been running a rotation at the end position.

Aaron Nelson and Staggs will lineup inside of the ends at defensive tackle, a spot Nelson got used to as a starter last season. Napier and Chris Feaster (5-10, 220, Jr.) are taking reps behind Nelson and Staggs.

Evans gets his starting job back as one of the outside backers, while Wyatt Nelson looks to be the guy on the other side. Clay and Austin Ravenscroft are trying to fight their way into the starting lineup.

Biser will be getting back a Times-News All-Area and a West Virginia Class AA All-State linebacker back when Thorne settles in on the inside.

Biser said that the other linebacking spot is up in the air between Caleb Piraino (6-0, 215, Sr.) and Mallow. Fife has also been pushing his way for some playing time. Wilt will be backing up Thorne at the other spot.

Ebert, Flint and Ellifritz have all been competing for the right to start at free safety. So far, Ebert seems to be a step ahead in locking the position up.

Jones will start as one of Keyser’s cornerbacks, with Eric Lewis (5-8, 150, Jr.) and Garland working for more playing time.

Biser gets another All-State selection from last season returning to cornerback in Washington, who will be charged with shutting down the opponent’s best receiver.

“He’s a very well-rounded cornerback who can cover in the secondary, but is also an excellent tackler,” said Biser.

“He went through some growing pains as well last year where he was learning on the go, but he was another kid that got a little better each week.”

So far Biser hasn’t settled on a punter or a place kicker, but does have Tyler Biser returning as his long snapper.

The Golden Tornado opens the season tomorrow at Alumni Field at Tornado Alley when it hosts Wayne, which beat Keyser 22-8 last year.

Chris Appel is a reporter for the Times-News. Write to him at cappel@times-news.com.