What’s new is old, or what’s past is present.

Whichever analogy or cliché is used, Fayetteville-Manlius football in 2015 will include new, fresh faces always associated with high school athletics – but a very familiar face will lead them.

After Damien Rhodes stepped down as head coach late last year, F-M quickly found his replacement, which turned out to be Rhodes’ immediate predecessor and the man who coached the Rhodes-led Hornets to the program’s last Section III title.

In 2012, Paul Muench had resigned following 13 mostly successful seasons at the Hornets’ helm. But he didn’t retire, remaining a teacher at F-M and, slowly, regaining the hunger to coach.

So it only made sense that Muench was tapped to return to the sidelines for 2015, just at a moment when F-M was poised to reassert itself as a Class AA power.

“The kids and the other coaches have made (my return) easy with their enthusiasm and excitement,” said Muench.

Jared Shaw, who returns as the Hornets’ starting quarterback, said that Muench “is enthusiastic, is a smart football guy and listens a lot to the players.”

For his part, Muench said that what made coming back easier was the retention of most of the rest of F-M’s coaching staff, to maintain as much continuity as possible.

One of the first orders of business was reviving a junior varsity program that did not field a team in 2014. Now it’s back, with 27 players, to go with a full freshman squad, which eases any short-term concerns about program participation.

Just as importantly, the 48-man varsity roster includes just one sophomore. With so many hungry seniors and juniors around after they struggled to a 3-5 mark a year ago, the hunger is there.

On the surface, replacing senior quarterback Jake Wittig seems a monumental task, but since Wittig missed most of 2014 with an injury (he’s now at the University of Rochester), Shaw, a lefthander, and Henry Josephson, a right-hander, saw most of the snaps.

Shaw is likely to start the season under center, with Josephson ready to go if needed and, around them, a lineup full of experienced players coming back from the rigors of 2014.

In fact, the entire offensive line includes seniors. Joe Avellino starts at center, flanked by guards Isaac Petroulis-Lessig and Brad Ricciardello and tackles Andrew Bortel and Sal Gorgoni. When any of them needs a rest, sophomore Andrew Testani can fill in.

When F-M throws it, tight end David Stegemann, at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, along with Ben Testani, can create major matchup problems, and open things up for the wide receivers. Fernando Johnson returns after sitting out last fall, helped by Tyler VanOster and Greg Zogby at the slot.

The Hornets don’t lack for running backs, either. Josh Loeffler, Kyle McGee and Anthony Nucerino all return, while Luke Hamel and top defensive back Matt Truman offer further depth. All around, said Muench, his team’s strength lies in its number of offensive options.

“We have more interchangeable parts than before,” he said. “We can throw a lot of people at our opponents.”

Moving to the defensive side, all eyes will turn to Stegemann, an All-Central New York candidate at end who is bound to draw double teams.

“He has quickness, speed, strength and technique – the whole package,” said Muench.

Chase Randall, at the other end, could see lots of open lanes to opposing quarterbacks if their linemen worry too much about Stegemann, while Carl Butch, who is playing football for the first time since middle school, is part of a tackle rotation with Riccardello and Andrew Testani.

With the trio of McGee, Nucerino and Patroulis-Lessig, F-M is set at linebacker, while Truman and Ryan Cicci line up at cornerback around a safety rotation of Loeffler, Shaw and James Rettinger.

Before the usual gauntlet of tough Class AA foes, F-M opens on Friday by reviving a long-dormant local rivalry with East Syracuse Minoa, the first game between the Hornets and Spartans since 2000, when F-M held on at the wire for a 27-21 victory.

That was the year Muench debuted as head coach. A decade and a half later, he’s still at it, and after a two-year hiatus, he’s back on the sidelines, still dreaming big.

“I owe it to the kids on this team to have high expectations,” said Muench. “We’re always trying to shoot big. With the talent we have, we can win every night. Everyone is enthusiastic and fired up.”