Newton won the 1999 Apollo Conference title by one game over Effingham in the league standings, but Newton Coach Bob Horst isn't naming his own squad as the favorite to finish first in 2000.

"It's going to be a little tougher," he admitted. "Everybody had underclassmen last year. I think Robinson and Effingham have the nod right now."

"I think it'll be a dogfight like it always is," Mount Zion Coach Tim Nolen predicted. "In the last six years, there have been five different teams that have won it or at least shared the championship."

For an analysis of all six Apollo Conference teams, continue reading.

Charleston -- First-year coach Brian Halsey had been an assistant for nine years -- six at Charleston and three at Mattoon -- before replacing Bill Monken, who resigned as Charleston's coach last November.

"I'm 30 years old and I've worked my whole life to be a head coach and this is my alma mater," Halsey said, explaining why he wanted the challenge of taking on a team that finished 1-8 last season. "It's hard to express my excitement. I'm very excited."

Two of his new assistants are from Indiana: Steve Englehart of Terre Haute and Jerry Calandrilla of Brazil.

Halsey named sophomore Brandon Murphy at quarterback, sophomores Matt Shonk and Quinton Combs at wide receivers and senior Robbie Hunt at wide receiver as a few of his offensive starters.

On defense, he'll have senior Jeromy Tucker at inside linebacker, sophomore Cody Emberton as a lineman and senior A.J. Sherry as a back.

Charleston will kick off its season tonight at home against Taylorville.

Effingham -- Veteran offensive and defensive lines will be the strength of ninth-year coach Mike McDonald's team, following the graduation of most of his backfield.

The Flaming Hearts were 6-3 overall last season and 4-1 in the conference. Eleven lettermen return, a list highlighted by 5-10, 215-pound center Brant Herring, Caleb Hirtzel (6-1, 240) at offensive guard and defensive tackle, offensive tackle-noseguard Paul Hecht (6-2, 250), offensive tackle Colby Patterson (5-10, 230), halfback-strong safety Kevin Rudolphi (5-11, 190), halfback-free safety Ryan Koester (6-1, 170), defensive end Chad Rowlee (6-0, 200), split end Billy Pruemer (6-1, 180) and linebacker Eric Dunn (5-8, 185).

Some players new to the varsity who could help are cornerback-split end Phil Freimuth (6-1, 175), senior quarterback Brandon Mix (5-8, 175), who is playing for the first time since his freshman year, fullback Luke Poe (5-8, 220), linebacker-tight end Justin Smith and defensive end-tight end Dustin Lustig.

McDonald's team opens its schedule with three tough nonconference games, including the first two on the road, before beginning Apollo play against Robinson. "That's a pretty tough first four games," McDonald said.

Tonight's matchup will be at Mahomet-Seymour.

Mount Zion -- Starting his seventh season in charge at Mount Zion, Nolen knows it won't be easy to win the conference.

Senior tailback Sean Brewer and senior quarterback Chad Watson, who started some at their positions last season, are back to start some more.

"We weren't very good offensively last year," Nolen noted. "We've got seven starters back. We've definitely got to play better than we did last year for that result to change. We expect them to [play better] and we hope that they do."

Defensively, Nolen plans to use seniors Ryan Pinkston as a safety and Brian Armstrong as a linebacker and junior Jeff Poulos as another linebacker.

Mount Zion, 4-5 a year ago, will start its season tonight at home against Chatham.

Newton -- The defending Apollo Conference champion Eagles ended up 12-1 a year ago after losing to eventual Class 3A state champ Byron in the semifinal round of the state tournament.

Horst realizes repeating as the Apollo champ won't be easy for a big reason.

"We have one returning starter on both sides of the ball," he mentioned. "But we can be there It's just a matter of things falling into place."

On offense, junior Creighton Tarr will get the nod at quarterback. Junior wide receiver Rob Horst, the coach's son who saw plenty of action last year, should be a primary target for Tarr.

Defense was a trademark last year for Newton, which at one point recorded six consecutive shutouts.

The one starter back is senior defensive end Michael Bierman, who has a reputation for being a disruptive pass rusher.

Newton will open its campaign tonight at home against Olney.

Paris -- Mick Roberts spent nine seasons at Casey, stepped down after the 1998 season and returned to head coaching this season at his alma mater.

A 1978 graduate of Paris, Roberts expects a lot out of his players. Among them is senior Brice Eldredge, a 6-4, 180-pound quarterback.

"He's a returning starter," Roberts pointed out. "He has some experience under his belt, even though we have a new offensive system. We expect him to be able to move our offense. He throws the ball pretty decent. He's worked hard for us during the summer."

Roberts also has two move-ins from Casey, junior wide receiver Tyler Heleine and sophomore wide receiver Jud Rhoads.

"Those two kids bring us some experience and some knowledge of how to win football games," Roberts mentioned. "They're two pretty talented kids."

Roberts also anticipates senior wide receiver Michael Landsaw, junior tailback Kurtis Martin, sophomore tailback C.J. Becher, senior wide receiver Kevin Shewey (a move-in from Hawaii) and sophomore running back Adam Shewey (another move-in from Hawaii), junior tackle Burton White (6-3, 225) and senior center Cody Muchow (6-3, 240), among others, being potential contributors.

"The offense is pretty much what I ran at Casey," Roberts noted. "We're going to be an I-formation team. We're going to throw the football and we're going to try to run the ball with our tailback. We'll try to mix the run with the pass We'll try to make it where they have to defend everything."

On defense, Roberts hopes to get plenty of mileage out of White and sophomore Joseph Smith at tackles, Becher and senior Mark Brady at inside linebackers, Landsaw and Heilene at outside linebackers, Rhoads at safety and Martin at cornerback.

In addition, Martin will punt and placekick again this season.

"It's kinda been the doormat of the Apollo Conference the last few years," Roberts replied when asked why he wanted the Paris job over other opportunities he had. "I think we'll be competitive. My kids will get better and improve every week. We're going to play hard. We'll get it fixed eventually."

Paris will have its first game of the Roberts Era tonight at home against Marshall.

Robinson -- Beginning his 16th season at the helm, Terry Roche hopes to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 2-7 season in '99.

"I think we're going to have a pretty balanced offense," he proclaimed. "I think our skill kids will be pretty good."

Roche will utilize senior Jeff McKeighan at a variety of positions, most notably halfback, wide receiver, punt returner and kickoff returner. Also figuring into the mix are junior quarterback Jared Whipkey, junior halfback Kirk Loughery, senior wide receiver Wade Shimer, senior fullback Mickey Walton, junior fullback Kent Williamson and senior guard Brandon Bush, plus seniors Levi Damron and Chad Murray are trying to squeeze in time at running back.

Whipkey already has started the last two seasons. "I think he's going to come back and have a really good year this year," Roche predicted.

When playing defense, the Maroons are likely to use Loughery and Murray at safeties, McKeighan and Shimer at cornerbacks, Williamson and senior Todd Nicklaus at outside linebackers, Damron (a two-year starter) at middle linebacker and Walton, senior Brandon Weger and sophomore Jerry Stephens on the line.

Roche said Damron will do the placekicking and McKeighan will do the punting.

"I think we'll be much improved," Roche insisted. "Last year, our defense wasn't as strong as we're used to having. We've really shored up our defense this year."

Robinson will make its season debut at home tonight against Casey.

Tribune-Star Sports Editor Mark Bennett contributed to this report.