FAIRHOPE, Ala. — With a host of talented and experienced players on both sides of the ball this season, the Fairhope Pirates expect to have a good, even great year on the Eastern Shore.

The Pirates, under the direction of third-year head coach David Faulkner, expect to compete for a state championship this season after narrowly missing the quarterfinals in 2010.

“We have put in so much work this offseason. We have so much leadership on on this team, and we are hungry too,” senior offensive lineman Kyron Samuels said. “In all seriousness, we want to go 15-0 and win a state championship. That’s what we work for and I feel like we the ability to do that.”

Fairhope can reach that goal by putting points on the board, Samuels said.

“For the offense, we all want to score at least 35 points, five touchdowns a game. That’s the goal going into the season,” he said. “If we can score more, we will score more. That’s every game, from the lesser opponents to the big time games, the rivalry games. At least five touchdowns.”

Linebacker Scott Dacus will anchor a senior-laden Pirate defense.

“We really want to just shut out everybody out that we play,” Dacus said. “We come to practice every day with that mentality, just to shut out whoever our opponent is. Whoever lines up against us, we’ve got to shut them out.”

Offensive lineman and Southern Miss commitment Robert Leff said the Pirates have one goal in mind going into the season: winning the state championship.

“Our team is just hungry to win this state title,” Leff said. “It was within our grasp last year but we couldn’t pull it off. This year we have the team that we need to do it.”