A day before opening the 2017 Big 30 football season in earnest, the new coaches in the Allegheny Mountain League North were at the height of their optimism.

Tom Storey, the new boss in Coudersport, talked about his team being “pumped up.” Pat Warnick, in his first year at Port Allegany, used the term “on the same page” on multiple occasions.

Adam Jack, now in charge at Smethport, said he’d love for his players to experience what he did as a standout with the Hubbers in the early 90s — the program’s golden era under Carl DeFilippi.

As of Friday afternoon, the AML North, collectively, has the same record, the same chance at success, as its brethren in the South. Until at least kickoff, none of the league’s 12 members are better than the next.

The three new faces in the North have preached this point, used it as a source of motivation heading into the daunting tasks that lie ahead in Week 0.

But they know there’s more to this than merely what it says on paper.

The South has dominated the North over the last three years, winning 60 of 62 interdivisional contests by margins as high as 30 (in 2014) and 40 (last season) points per game. It’s an elephant in the room that’s becoming harder to ignore: The first month of the season has been a mere formality; the victor in the South becomes the runaway winner of the entire league (though the championship games have generally been closer than the regular season meetings).

The coaches, understandably, are sick of hearing about it, tired of being spoon fed the same galling statistics week after week.

Some have accepted the circumstances, resigning themselves to the reality that their season will start for real in Week 5. Some come back expecting to beat the South the following campaign.

Considering the dynamic, it’s probably no coincidence that the only three coaching changes in the Big 30 this season came in the AML North. These three coaches, however — a former Naval commander, the Smethport police chief and a former Hubbers star who was around for the program’s 67-game win streak — aren’t interested in recent trends.

Beginning today, they expect to win, even against the South, even in September.

“We want to represent the North in the South as we go through the first four games of the season, so we’re pumped up,” Storey said. “I think the boys are ready to go.

“Our big thing is telling them to believe from the last couple of years where we’ve beaten one South team each year. We want to try to get more this year.”

And that’s where the challenge for each coach differs.

Coudersport, even after losing to Otto-Eldred for the North title last fall, has been the most competitive out of the three teams. The Falcons picked up both of the North’s victories over the South in that span, beating Bradford in overtime last season and topping tonight’s opponent, Ridgway, in 2015.

Storey takes over a Coudy team that was formerly a North power, has gone 5-5 over the last two seasons and has stood up to the Goliaths in the South.

“And that’s exactly why I’ve been talking to the guys about believing,” he said. “I know there’s always been kind of a stigma that’s been put out — not to blame (the media), sometimes the record speaks for itself. But that’s what I told the kids: They have to believe in themselves.

“I’ve always told them the southern teams put their pants on the same way we do up here. If they believe and do what they’ve got to do and execute, we should be fine.”

For Jack, the challenge is lifting a Smethport program that has been mired in mediocrity; the Hubbers went 19-28 with two playoff appearances and no AML North titles under previous coach Jim Berlin.

For Warnick, the task runs deeper: A year after winning the North, the Gators went 0-9 last season, losing by an average of 40 points per game while battling injuries and dangerously low numbers.

Warnick’s Gators will be thrown into the fire from the outset: Tonight, they meet three-time defending District 9 champion Kane, which throttled Port Allegany 70-0 in Week 0 last year and is the league favorite again this year.

“That’s the one thing I emphasized to the guys: Tomorrow sets the tone for the rest of the year,” Warnick said. “Win or lose, if we go in and play hard, I feel we’ll make out when it comes time for playing the North.

“I’m very pleased with the guys; they seem to listen well. None of the players are complaining. They’re following through with our game plans. Hopefully, they’ll come out game day showing the same attitude.”

As August melts into September, the threat of another lopsided AML season is looming. Much of the South appears to have reloaded. Between coaching changes and a recent lack of victories, the North is more of a question mark.

For their part, Storey, who spent 20 years in the Navy, and Warnick, the Smethport police chief, are ready for what lies ahead.

In a way, there’s nothing to lose.

“As a first time football coach, I’m thinking about it,” Storey said of heading into his first game. “I want to do everything I can to help the team do their best. I’m maybe putting a little pressure on myself, but no, I think we’re fine.

“We’re healthy, we’re getting in shape. We’re not quite where we want to be, but we’re getting there. So I think we’ll have a good shot (tonight).”

Added Warnick: “I feel after watching last year’s game against Kane and from our scrimmage, I think the kids are all on the same page, and I think they’re going to come out and play much harder than they did last year.

“Time will tell.”

(J.P. Butler, Bradford Publishing Company Group Sports Editor, can be reached at othbutler@gmail.com)