It's only his first year at Baldwin, but Dan Pallante feels as if he's been here before.

Maybe it is because is back in the Great Southern Conference, where he last coached Canon-McMillan in 2002. Three consecutive years of losing at Baldwin that Pallante follows is another aspect of coaching he has gotten used to. His last job at Marlington High School in Ohio was another rebuilding project.

"I feel like I am living my life all over again," Pallante said. "Sometimes, it doesn't make it easier because I am an impatient person, but I know what to expect. I have been in this situation before."

Pallante, who still lives in the Youngstown, Ohio, area and commutes 80 minutes to Baldwin every day, turned around Marlington in a hurry. After four non-conference games this season, he has Baldwin at 2-2 with a big win on the road against Woodland Hills at the Wolvarena and a 63-point outburst in a win against Seneca Valley last Friday.

Against the same four opponents last season, the Highlanders were 0-4 and were outscored 121-23. The 63 points scored at home last Friday were more than they had through their first seven games last season combined.

That 1-9 season came with Baldwin using a spread offense. The Highlanders have switched to Pallante's signature triple-option offense this season. It seems to be working.

Senior quarterback Jeff Joyce racked up 332 yards against Seneca Valley, averaging more than 33 yards a carry. Against Woodland Hills, all 143 yards of offense came on the ground. Quinn Hood carried for 147 yards in a season-opening loss against Shaler Area.

Clearly, these are not last year's Highlanders.

"When one coach looks at a group of talent, he'll sometimes see something else," Pallante said. "I always look for running backs and we had a real nice core of four or five backs.

"They have good speed to fit the triple [option]. It's a hard-nosed, tough physical offense."

Joyce, along with seniors Matt Perella and Ian Wild, provide the speed to fuel the option offense. Sophomore fullback Hood (5 feet 9, 195 pounds) has emerged as a surprise in the backfield, helping to collapse the defense in the middle and opening up the perimeter running.

Pallante said he felt like a salesmen at times, trying to sell the new offense to his players. The early-season results have made it easy to buy into.

It is an impressive transition from last year's spread offense, especially considering he was hired late and spent the first two months working on the players' conditioning. He did not get down to X's and O's with his team until July.

"I am going to find the fastest running back in the school and put him at quarterback and find the toughest kid and put him at fullback," Pallante said. "You have to be able to have a philosophy, believe in it and run it on Friday night."

The new offense is not the only thing the players had to adjust to. Pallante brought with him new ways to lift weights, conditioning drills and practice and brought on board an almost entirely new coaching staff. On defense, the Highlanders now run a 3-3-5 stack similar to West Virginia's defense instead of the 4-4 that they ran last season.

Baldwin heads into conference play tomorrow night against Upper St. Clair, a team that beat them, 38-7, last season. Pallante is less worried about how the teams match up on the field and more worried about how the programs history matches up.

"You are matching up against years of success. Our team is just getting it going for the first time in a long time. The kids at St. Clair have been in big games all the time," Pallante said.

"It's going to be a challenge Friday night to handle the attention. Our players have been walking around with their chests out for two days. At Upper St. Clair, they have been doing it for 25 years."

Pallante said one of the biggest challenges this season is that everything his players do is a first for them. Whether it's winning, blowing someone out or playing in a big game, this first-year coach knows he has to keep his team mindful of the situation.