GULF SHORES, Ala. — New Gulf Shores head coach Ben Blackmon hasn’t seen his team take the field for a regular season game yet, but he knows that, at least on paper, the Dolphins can compete against a tough group of 5A Region 1 foes.

“It is a murderer’s row, one of the toughest regions in 5A,” Blackmon said. “But I believe that we can compete in Region 1 with what we have. We want to raise the stakes and let the chips fall.”

The Dolphins visit defending 5A champion Spanish Fort (Sept. 2), travel to Prichard to face perennial power Vigor (Sept. 16) and go to St. Paul’s in mid-October (Oct. 14). They open the season Thursday at 7 p.m. at 6A Robertsdale.

One of the reasons Blackmon might feel comfortable about his team’s chances this season is what his offense returns from last season. Nine Dolphin offensive starters return, including four senior offensive linemen, quarterback Brandon Silvers, wide receivers Chris Tilley and Alez Szapiel and running back Josh Carroll. Silvers threw for more than 2,400 yards and had 26 touchdowns last season.

Silvers and Tilley connected 81 times for 942 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010.

“We are not just good friends on the field, we are best friends off the field,” Silvers said of Tilley. “We have a pretty good connection.”

“He comes off of me every now and then,” Tilley said with a chuckle. “Sometimes I'm running down the field wide open and he misses me, but he’s usually pretty good. It helped a lot once we learned each others tendencies. He knows where I’m going and I know what he's thinking, so that helps us a lot.”

Silvers said that Blackmon had brought in an offense that would be more run heavy than last year’s pass-heavy attack. Carroll, along with Codie Harbison and Chris Brown, will make up the Dolphin backfield.

“I think it will help me be more comfortable in the pocket when we pass,” he said. “If we are able to run the ball more it will take the pressure off of me.”

Linebacker Tyler Stargel, who has verbally committed to Georgia Tech, said he believed the team learned a lot from last year’s 4-6 season. Two of the Dolphins four wins were one-point victories, while one of their losses was a tough, one touchdown setback to perennial power Vigor. Gulf Shores won four of its last five games in 2010.

“We grew a lot from those games, especially the Vigor game,” Stargel said. “That and the Piedmont game built us up for the end of the season. By the time we were at Faith Academy (a 42-21 GSHS win in week nine), we had a lot of confidence. Then we finished with a win over Bayside. We haven’t lost steam from those games. I think we are ahead of where were coming in last year.”

The Dolphins travel for four of their first five games this season. No road test will be more emotional than when Gulf Shores visits Spanish Fort Sept. 2, where they will face former head coach Mark Freeman. Freeman left Gulf Shores to coach the Toros after two seasons.

“We don’t want to be too emotional about it,” Stargel said. “We can’t be too high or too low. You have to focus and remember what you are supposed to do.”

Blackmon comes to Gulf Shores from Greenville, where he compiled a 31-14 record.

Stargel led the Dolphin defense with 92 tackles, 4 sacks, 6 fumble recoveries last season. Senior linebacker Ryan Morgan and defensive backs Daniel LaBorde and Parker Mason also return to the Gulf Shores defense.

The Dolphins host LeFlore (Sept. 9), Citronelle (Sept. 30), 1A Linden (Oct. 7) and Faith Academy (Oct. 21).