By STEVE RUMAN

August 25, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

MINERAL RIDGE

A new era begins for Mineral Ridge this fall, as the Rams head into the season with a new coach and a new conference affiliation.

The Rams will be guided by Doug Velasquez, who takes over for Joe Stevens. Velasquez is a rookie head coach after serving as an assistant for 22 years at six different schools.

After being part of Tier One of the Inter-Tri County League since its inception, Mineral Ridge is moving to Tier Two.

“From a competition standpoint, there’s not much of a drop-off,” Velasquez said. “There’s a lot of talent and a lot of well-coached teams in the Lower Tier. The bottom line is that we’ll have our hands full week after week. We’ll be challenged from the start to the end of the season.”

OFFENSE

The Rans’ offense will revolve around senior quarterback Jonathan Baker, a starter since he was a sophomore. Baker has passed for 1,789 yards.

“It’s always a huge edge to have an experienced quarterback at the high school level,” Velasquez said. “In John, we have a team leader. We have someone who has been through it all before, and that will help everyone else on the field.”

The Rams’ backfield will be without senior Devine Redding, who transferred to Cleveland Glenville after gaining more than 2,000 in two seasons at Mineral Ridge. Still, Josh Goss and Corey Phillips will give the Rams some offensive firepower, while Jake Fowler and Kyle Davidson will provide experience on the line.

“We have both the size and veteran experience to be successful,” Velasquez said.

DEFENSE

Fowler will anchor the defensive line, while Velasquez said Goss will “quarterback the defense” from his linebacker position. Goss led the Rams in tackles (122) last season. He also had five sacks.

Mineral Ridge gave up an average of 33.4 points per game in 2012. Velasquez, a defensive-minded coach, knows that number must decrease drastically in order for the Rams to achieve their goal of reaching the playoffs.

“This group of guys, they’ve experienced losses in the past in games where they scored a lot of points,” Velasquez said. “They understand more than anyone that it all starts with defense.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Tracy Cross earned all-league honors last year as a sophomore, and will supply the Rams with a solid kicking game.

“Our skilled guys, who are very capable players, will be relied on to provide some fire power in our return game,” Velasquez said. “We have to work hard on defending our kickoffs and punts.”

OUTLOOK

After an 0-2 start last year, the Rams won six of their final eight games to finish 6-4. They finished ninth in their region, and missed the playoffs by less than one-tenth of a point.

“We don’t ever want to put our playoff fate in someone else’s hands,” Velasquez said. “We have to come out strong from the very start. We have to maintain our focus and intensity from start to finish.”

The Rams play four of their first five games on the road. Velasquez hopes a veteran core which includes five returning starters on both offense and defense will help his team get through the challenging stretch.

“Our seniors have shown leadership qualities all throughout the offseason, from the day I stepped into the program,” he said. “If they show that same type of leadership this fall, we’ll be OK.”