Attend a Christian Brothers Academy football game this season, and some things will look quite familiar – gold helmets, purple and white jerseys, high purple socks and black cleats.

Those socks and shoes are an intentional return to traditional style. Senior captain Dan Damico said that some players had drifted away from wearing them in recent years, and that wearing them offers a reminder of the championship teams that CBA so regularly produced.

Regardless of what is worn, though, something will feel very different when the Brothers have its highly-anticipated showdown with Rochester Aquinas during the Kickoff Classic Saturday night at the Carrier Dome.

Joe Casamento, the coach who in 17 years led CBA to 143 victories, eight sectional titles and the 2004 state Class AA championship, is no longer in charge, having gone to the St. John Christian School in Washington, D.C.

But CBA kept things in house by promoting assistant Casey Brown to replace Casamento. Senior quarterback Jack Brotzki says there’s a difference between the two.

“Casey is really high-energy,” said Brotzki. “And everyone on the team feeds off that energy.”

The players also are feeding off a rare feeling of hunger following a 2014 campaign where it only went 4-3 in the regular season and got knocked out by Baldwinsville in the opening round of the sectional playoffs.

Brown said that, the day after the season ended, players were already in the weight room, starting to get ready for 2015.

“Our emphasis was on fundamentals,” he said. “Last year, we got away from that. We weren’t all on the same page. And they (the players) were determined to turn things back around.”

So instead of the pursued, CBA is the pursuer, and it’s eager to reclaim its place at the top with a wealth of offensive options around Brotzki, who shared quarterback duties with Josh Brown a year ago, but now takes over full-time.

Brotzki’s full-time first-string duty has given him a chance to bond with several top receivers, including Noah Jordan-Williams, who is eager to revive the Brothers’ vaunted air attack.

“We’ve got to be more of a passing team,” said Jordan-Williams.

Jordan-Williams and sophomore Charles Pride give Brotzki a pair of strong targets, but Damico, Sir Dennis and Lincoln McGarrity will catch passes, too, and CBA has plenty of running options, too, with D’Andre Dowdell, Stevie Scott, Gavin Collins and Collin Recore all likely to see time in the backfield.

Except for one tackle spot (and even with the departure of John Phillips to Boston College), the Brothers are set on the front line, too, with Matt Levy-Scott at the other tackle spot, Jordan Allison and Sam Vercillo at guard, and Steve Maser at center. Andrew Kobuszewski is back as the Brothers’ kicker, and was hitting it 40 yards between the uprights during practices in August.

By far, the biggest CBA defensive issue is in the front line, where, other than David Polhemus, every other position is up for grabs. But Brown isn’t too concerned, saying that, as long as the group plays as a unit, things will work out.

CBA is not worried at linebacker, though. Damico, McGarrity, Collins and Nick Aversa make for a fast, talented unit, and the secondary is strong, too, as Dowdell, a junior, is in his third year as a starting cornerback, and Recore stands out at safety, alongside Sam Martin. Dennis is the other cornerback.

“They just swarm to the ball,” said Brown. “This (defensive) group has played together for a while, and they have a strong sense of communication with each other.”

Brown could not ask for a more difficult opening assignment, with Aquinas featuring top national quarterback prospect Jake Zembiec and the Irish still mad at how it got booted from the Section V playoffs a year ago over a question about Zembiec’s eligibility while it sat atop the state rankings.

Against Aquinas, and in the tough local Class AA games that follow, Brown said he is looking for a mix of passion and precision.

“I want to see us play together, play mistake-free and play confident,” he said.