New London — Something that’s stood out to Coast Guard Academy football captain Paul Puddington so far in the preseason: Seniors, stopping what they’re doing in practice to explain a formation or a technique to an underclassman.

“When I was a freshman, I was kind of lost,” Puddington said.

“We have a senior at every position, defensive back, running back, wide receiver,” senior captain and offensive lineman Tommy Condon said at Tuesday’s weekly Bears’ football luncheon, describing the team’s atmosphere so far. “Everyone’s always on top of each other; everyone’s always improving. This senior class is really, really close. Everything we say and do, it’s all as a team.”

Coast Guard, with 19 seniors on its roster and 16 returning starters, opens the season at 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Anna Maria, the Bears’ first night game since 1996.

Coach Bill George, in his 17th season, has described his team as “a more serious group overall.”

The captains, Puddington, Condon and first team All-New England Football Conference linebacker Kyle Wood, can attest to that.

One of the team’s strengths is expected to be the offensive line, which allowed just 10 sacks last year on 434 passing attempts.

Four starters return to the line, with Condon (guard) and junior Jordan Hart (tackle), holding down the left side for the third straight season. Senior Kevin Painten moves from right tackle to right guard and junior J.D. Dunaway shifts from right guard to center. Six-foot-four, 250-pound sophomore Cory Tomasetti moves into the spot at right tackle.

“The offensive line has to be the backbone of the team,” George said. "They need to be the leaders, be the playmakers, in a way.”

The line will try to create room for quarterback Derek Victory, a junior who has already started 17 games, and senior running back Mike Clancy, in his first year as the starter, as the Bears try to revamp a running game which averaged just 60.2 yards per game last season.

“This year is different than the last three years for me,” Condon said of the progress of the line. “The things we’d be spending weeks on, we’re spending a day on. The offensive line needs to start out the game strong so that our receivers and our running backs can feel out their job.”

Puddington, an inside linebacker, calls being voted as one of the three captains “an honor.”

“I feel like I am expected to step up,” Puddington said. “I have to be the last person that’s going to lose my head.”

Wood said the captain’s role is shared by each of his fellow seniors.

“I think every senior on the team is pretty much a captain,” Wood said. “I look to the other guys for help, as well.”

George was pleased with his team’s crispness in a recent scrimmage against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Bears (3-7 overall last year, 2-5 NEFC) didn’t turn the ball over once, one of their points of emphasis after a league-worst (by far) 23 interceptions last year.

Anna Maria was 0-10 last year, but lost their final two games by a total of five points, one in overtime. George said that on film Anna Maria has been known to stack as many as nine guys in the box to stop the run and said the offensive line will be tested right away.

“It’s a hard-working, dedicated group, now the challenge is here,” the coach said. “It’s easier to talk about them after they rack a couple yards up.”

Likewise, for the rest of the team.

“There’s a different mindset, especially with some of the offensive leaders, Tommy and Kevin, Clancy, he acts like a leader,” George said. “But it’s like the old Joe Torre thing (about winning creating chemistry). Everybody’s a great leader now. … We’re going to be tested Thursday night. How will we respond?”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday