Paul Cohen knows he needs Herculean efforts from the 24 players on his Bow High School football team if the Falcons hope to earn another Division V playoff appearance.

“If I had a big squad, a lot of kids would play one way. We don’t have that, so we have to prepare for each week faced with the reality that we do have a small squad,” said Cohen. “The kids are told that from the first day of camp. You have to be prepared to step into a role that you may not be familiar with.”

One thing the Falcons do have this year is a large amount of veterans who will anchor the team.

Cohen said of the 18 Falcons who are juniors or seniors, he’ll lean heavily on a group of four. Mike Finnegan, Ian Wedemeyer, JP Hodgkins and Andy Wieland captain Cohen’s team.

“I expect big things from those guys, being returning veterans and seniors,” said Cohen. “They showed great leadership, and they’re role models for the younger players. I would expect for their last year at Bow to (be) a great year.”

Junior Tom Poitras should be an offensive force for the Falcons, in more than one way. The tight end is not only a blocking and pass catching threat, but he’ll contribute on special teams as well. As the Falcons kicker, Poitras narrowly missed a 50-yard field goal last season, and Cohen said it had the distance and went slightly wide.

Poitras and fellow tight end Carter Johnson also anchor the Falcons’ defense, and Cohen said he likes having two returning starters in the defensive mix. Cohen expects junior Atticus Swett to pace the Bow offensive attack from the backfield; the running back will see the majority of the carries this year.

Behind center, a position battle is brewing. Senior Andrew Vinnenberg and junior Austin Hill both hope to be named starting quarterback, a competition that Cohen said should benefit the team.

“I think it’s very healthy. We haven’t had very large teams, but where we can have competition for a spot, that’s going to bring out the best in each player,” said Cohen. “It makes for a better player overall. It forces them to take their game to a new level. Without that it’s much more difficult to improve as an athlete.”

While Cohen wouldn’t commit to a win total by year’s end, he said his team is prepared to face the upcoming season, which begins with a tune-up against Division VI foe Fall Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.

“We need to be at the top of our game and prepare well every single week. From a physical standpoint I think we’re definitely ready,” said Cohen. “Now we need to work on execution and fine-tune things.”