By Andy Walter

MILFORD — The Milford High football program has had a little trouble settling in anywhere lately.

Three seasons ago, the Buccaneers were in the Henlopen South with the conference’s smallest schools.

Then, the next fall, they were in the North with the biggest programs.

Finally, last season, Milford split its schedule between both the North and South for scheduling reasons.

The fact that the Bucs find themselves in the newly formed Class 2A District III this year makes it feel like just another move.

But coach Shaun Strickland Class 2A thinks this is a good place for Milford.

“I think we’re where we belong,” said Strickland, who is starting his seventh season as head coach. “There’s a lot of different factors (in determining teams’ placement). Since I’ve come on at Milford, we’ve had team as large as 70 or 80 kids in camp or as few as 50 or 60.

“But we always end around the same area. ... It’s two different ballgames when you can have a freshman, JV and varsity (team) compared to a program that can only pick two. I think, for the most part, everyone is where they should be. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how things break down this year.”

For the Bucs, who open the season on Friday by hosting Cambridge-South Dorchester, Md. at 5 p.m., there’s plenty of familiar faces in District III.

Milford will still face Lake Forest, Delmar, Woodbridge and Sussex Tech. District III also includes private schools Caravel and Red Lion Christian.

After graduating a dozen seniors from last year’s 2-3 squad, the Bucs have only nine seniors on this year’s roster. One of those seniors is fourth-year starting quarterback Shawn Saxon.

Other seniors include Thomas Hermansader, Deontae King, Dylan Long, Alexander Nash, Jordan Norman, Ja’vion Scott-Warner, Aaron Sivels and Aydin Zimmerman.

“We’re young and very inexperienced,” said Strickland. “So we’re going to get to see some young guys step up. If they get that time in this year it’s just going to make us better down the road.

“It’s been fun to see some of those kids step up, take hold of spots and perform in camp.”

On a roster of 54 players, 17 are sophomores and 13 more are freshmen.

While Milford is hoping to be competitive with the teams on its schedule, it won’t be easy, either.

The Bucs step up to face defending Division I state champion Sussex Central (which is now in Class 3A). They also take on a new opponent in North County, Md.

Young or not, Strickland said he won’t set his goals any lower for this year’s squad.

Milford did take part in a 7-on-7 summer league that Strickland helped organize at DE Turf. It gave the Bucs’ coaches an earlier idea of what kind of players they have.

“We’re seeing that progress with a lot of those young skill guys,” said Strickland. “A lot of them are comfortable and have really been working with us since mid to late June.

“We haven’t had it in the past mostly because the only league close by was the New Castle league. ... We had six teams and played two games a night for six or seven weeks. It was a good time. It really did a lot to kind of get eyes on guys that we probably wouldn’t have seen until August. We got to see them in June.”

Of course, the true tests start next week. Strickland is anxious to see how this team develops.

“Now we’re just looking forward to seeing how guys have grown and matured,” he said.