SOUTH BEND — A rough patch of seasons inside the Pacific 2B League for South Bend has netted some valuable benefits for this season.

With a roster stocked full of young, experienced players who earned their worth fighting through the power-packed league, the Indians are aiming for an improved outlook in the new Southwest Washington 2B Coastal Division.

“They have some experience and some seasoning,” South Bend head coach Tom Sanchez said. “In that sense, we’re further along in some aspects than in the past. It is just finding the positions. In the division we are in, I think we can be competitive. The top-four teams in the division (qualify) for the crossovers. We still have to beat a team we shouldn’t beat to get in.”

On Friday, Sept. 2, South Bend (3-5, 3-5 overall in 2015) will open the season at Millam Field against Winlock.

Senior running back A.J. Sanchez, the first-team all-Pacific 2B League All-Purpose Player last season, will be the main offensive player for South Bend. He isn’t a stereotypical running back in a division/league that is traditionally a power football showcase. However, his speed on offense and special teams makes him a marked player for opposing defenses.

Junior Ben Byington will take over at quarterback, with senior Jordan Dockter seeing time in the backfield and junior Josiah Markwell anchoring the offensive and defensive lines. All three players were all-league honorable mentions.

“We will be better, because of maturity; we’ve played a lot of young kids (over the past few years),” Tom Sanchez added. “There are key positions where we are thin, and we’ll be playing some young kids there. Offensively, we are going to be OK. Defensively, we have to improve. That will be the challenge for us.”

One of the weak spots, Sanchez noted, will be on the offensive and defensive lines. The division is filled with large, intimidating line-of-scrimmage units. South Bend doesn’t sport a line that can power its way down the field, but will have a young unit that will try to win the key battles.

“That will be our Achilles’ heel,” Sanchez said. “We have some young kids on the line, but we’ve been saying that for a long time. At some point, you have to get over the young part of it. It will be interesting, especially on defense.

“Defensively, we need to play some games,” he added. “We can’t really match up with teams, especially in a physical matchup up front. We are not there. We just need to find a way to cause problems.”

Sanchez tapped Pe Ell-Willapa Valley and Ilwaco as the division favorites while placing South Bend, Raymond and North Beach into a hat for the third and fourth spots. The new format with the district-wide, three-division league will make the postseason matchup interesting, as well as inter-division games before division play starts.

“For us, the only difference is Pe Ell, since Willapa Valley has been here before,” Sanchez said. “PWV has the best player in the league in Kaelin Jurek and that team has the size; they are grain-fed over there. I think the good teams from last year, district-wide, have come back to the pack a bit (due to graduation losses). Kalama and Napavine are going to be very good.”

Assisting Sanchez this season will be Shane Byington, Kenny Minks, Rich Sanchez, Chuck Spoor and Todd Strozyk.