CORPUS CHRISTI — Sinton football coach Tom Allen never expects the first day of practice to start on time.

On Monday the Pirates were ready to go before the coaches. As a result, everyone was on the field ahead of schedule.

It also helped that the temperature had yet to reach stifling levels.

“Our kids were chomping at the bit,” said Allen, in his fourth year at the school. “They were all there early and we actually got going before 7 a.m. That’s not supposed to happen on the first day.”

Sinton is coming off one of the program’s most successful seasons after reaching the Region IV-3A Division II final. The Pirates lost to La Grange 34-27 in overtime and finished with a 12-2 record.

That performance is sure to give Sinton plenty of motivation, but it’s far from the focal point.

“We’re starting all over,” Allen said of a team that returns without a quarterback and several key defensive standouts. “We’re acting like we don’t know anything, but the learning curve is so much different now that we’re in our fourth year. Everyone knows what’s expected, so the kids and coaches go out there and get it done. Sometimes it’s scary when you see how much ahead you are from where we were four years ago. Still, we like to start back at ground zero.”

Eddie Hesseltine is taking the same approach in his second year at King.

“We start with the basics. The varsity is doing the exact same things we’re doing with our freshmen, even the guys that have been here for four years,” Hesseltine said. “You don’t ever want to take fundamentals for granted. We’re going to do them every day all year long.”

The Mustangs return with several key holdovers, including quarterback Dezi Rodriguez and offensive linemen Raymond Garza (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) and Blake Laubach (6-6, 260). Although the defense might have to play catch-up, King is poised to make a run at the team’s first playoff appearance since 2003.

“We’ve been preparing for this since we stepped off the field after the final game last season,” Hesseltine said. “The guys have been committed to our one goal. That’s getting to the playoffs and winning in the playoffs.