Last season, the Dartmouth High School football team, under the guidance of head coach Rick White, set the bar high. The team won a state championship.

Now the defending Massachusetts Division III Super Bowl Champions are set to embark on the new goal of going back-to-back. White said he was prepared to set aside past successes and move onto his next challenge: turning the members of his new team into winners.

“We’re looking forward to this group of kids and seeing what we can do with them. We’ll see how fast they pick up the offense, pick up the defense,” said White. “That’s what I like about coaching high school because it’s a challenge every single year. You’re not guaranteed anything.”

White’s assertion is correct as, last year, the team that won eight consecutive games, including four tournament matchups to conclude its season, is now a thing of the past, with only a few key hold-overs from its title run.

That’s why White has put an extra emphasis on the work of his three senior captains, Chris Martin, Sean Smialek and Matt Craig along with their classmates.

“How fast we progress is really up to our captains and our seniors,” said White.

Those leaders seem to be up to the challenge as well. Especially Smialek, the lone returner from last year’s strong offensive line and defensive front.

“This is something that happens every year,” Smialek said when asked about the difficulties of leading what is set to be an inexperienced line on both sides of the ball. “There’s usually always a change in the lineup.”

“As a guy coming back, I’m definitely looking for people to step up,” he said. “There’s always somebody who’s been practicing hard and working hard in the offseason and usually is ready to step up.”

As for White, he seemed a bit relieved that the unit that needs the most tweaking and tinkering is the offensive and defensive interior.

“If I had to pick between the two, it may be a little bit easier to build an offensive line, defensive line then it is to create skill guys,” White said. “Skill guys usually have some of that born into them. We have some work to do up front, but I’m sure coach [Peter] Rossi and coach [Mike] Martin will figure that out real quick.”

While the Indians are preparing to head into the new season, Martin, the team’s starting running back who rushed for 215 yards and a score in last year’s Super Bowl, believes he knows how they could return to glory.

“We just got to work as a team, come together as a team and work hard at practice,” Martin said.

White seems to share his star tailback’s mindset.

“Each year’s so different,” he said. “It’s a fresh start for everybody so [how well they do] pretty much comes down to how fast they can gel as a team.”

Though the team may be different and White, along with his staff, will be tasked teach a relatively new troop of players how to play “Indian Football,” the goal remains to go all the way.

When asked whether or not the young team had what it takes to go the distance, on day one of camp, its three captains gave one resounding answer.

“Of course.”