What the Marcellus football team would like in 2015 is a lot more of how last season began, and a lot less of how it ended.

The Mustangs opened 2014 by winning four straight games, but then went 1-4 the rest of the way, including a 48-0 defeat to Oneida in the opening round of the Section III Class B playoffs.

Part of that could be attributed to the rugged nature of a Class B West division that included eventual sectional champion Homer and Westhill. And things won’t get easier this fall with the addition of Cortland from Class A and Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central.

But Marcellus might be up to the task, returning its entire offensive and defensive lines, plus its secondary, along with two different quarterbacks who could easily start for other teams.

Head coach Joe Fiacchi is not taking sides with his pair of passers. Senior Mike Keegan and junior Tom Fiacchi could equally split the snaps, and each possesses enough of an arm, plus the requisite athletic skills, to run the show by themselves.

“They’re both good enough and experienced enough that I don’t want to make a choice,” said Joe Fiacchi, adding that the prospect of two strong signal-callers brings an element of surprise that is bound to leave opposing defenses confused.

Protecting the quarterback duo is an experienced offensive line. Luke Norstad returns at center, flanked by guards Kyle Norstad and Jack Brennan, with Kern Linder and Kieran Tierney at tackle.

Together, that quintet only averages 225 pounds in size, but make up for it with chemistry acquired from full seasons starting together and plenty of quickness to explode at the snap.

“I feel great about our front,” said Fiacchi.

Where the challenge comes up is trying to find weapons as reliable as graduated seniors Will Coon (at wide receiver) and Ian McGloon (at running back).

Nate Garlow, who averaged 12 yards a carry a season ago, takes over at tailback, but he’s got company thanks to Nate Lukins and Shane Rohe, so Garlow won’t have to carry the ball all the time. No single receiver might draw the double teams that Coon did, but Aaron Smith could put up some big numbers.

The biggest question, overall, for Marcellus is fixing a defense that surrendered 180 points during that 1-4 finish last fall.

On the defensive line, all eyes quickly turn to 6-foot-9, 325-pound senior nose guard Peter Rao, who sat out most of 2014 with an elbow injury, but is 100 percent and is an imposing anchor on the front.

Rao, along with tackles Josh Greenfield and Matt Kaczor, with Rohe and Keegan at end, will see most of the minutes in front of a solid group of linebackers led by Lukins in the middle, flanked by Brennan and Kyle Morstad. Tom Fiacchi starts at safety, while Smith and Alex Clark return at cornerback, backed by Garlow, Ben Hood and Matt Reich.

As for the Mustangs’ first order of business, it’s maintaining the Tom Anthony Silver Cup in Friday night’s season opener against visiting Solvay, whom it rallied to beat when the two sides met in 2014.

An eight-team B West division means that every regular-season game is against a league foe. Fiacchi said that starting with Solvay brings things into focus right away for the players, that it can’t wait to round into form, but instead show it before the calendar hits Labor Day.

To make it last, though, and push for league and sectional honors, Fiacchi said the biggest key is winning the turnover battle, figuring that takeaways lead to points and victories.

“We’re excited about our ability to create turnovers,” he said.