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“I am keenly aware of that,” Burnham said with a slight laugh.

Burnham’s also aware he has no one to blame but himself, his staff and his players. In just his first year as Cambridge-South Dorchester High’s head football coach, Burnham piloted the Vikings to their first undefeated regular season since 2000, when David Bromwell — then in his first year as head coach — led his alma mater to a perfect 10-0 regular-season. Though the 2024 Vikings played one less regular-season game than the 2000 edition, both teams finished with 10-1 records.

So what’s Burnham’s plan for an encore on the eve of his second season?

“The goal is to win more than 10. It always has been,” said Burnham, whose team’s unbeaten run ended last year via a Class 1A state quarterfinal loss to eventual state champion Fort Hill.

Though Anthony Hughes, the two-way standout who was selected as last year’s Bayside Conference Most Valuable Player, has graduated, Cambridge-SD again looks to have the goods for another successful season and deep postseason push.

Sophomore Nate Twilley (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) takes over at quarterback and has a trio of talented running backs behind him, including 5-8, 175-pound senior Sterling Perkins, who rushed for over 1,000 yards a year ago. He is joined by classmates Jayden Hollowell (5-9, 160) and Ra’Quan Cornish (5-10, 150), who like Perkins, have big-play potential.

“We’re going to rely on our run game,” Burnham said. “And we’re going to throw it enough to keep people honest, keeping them from loading the box.”

Twilley has a talented fleet of senior receivers to aim for, as Majestic Jones (6-0, 170), Tamyron Evans (5-8, 150), Leonbre Chester (6-1, 170) and TJ Wilson (6-3, 180) have the potential to take any catch they make to the house. Complementing that cast are three tight ends, led by senior K’Marion Hall (6-3, 225), who may be the most talented player on the roster.

“I can play him anywhere,” Burnham said of Hall. “He can play all five offensive line spots. He can play tight end. He can play receiver, wing and fullback. He can do pretty much everything.”

Senior Russell Johnson (6-1, 215) and junior Parker Spies (5-11, 195) are also at tight end and join a young offensive line.

Returning from last year are junior right guard Jeffrey Sellman (6-0, 250) and junior Tellorian Williams (6-6, 245), who shifts from center to left tackle. Junior Christian Reynolds (6-1, 225) starts at center, with sophomore Amori York (6-1, 295) at left guard and junior Donnell Bryant (6-3, 235) lining up at right tackle.

“We’re young,” Burnham said of his line. “We don’t have any seniors on the line so we’re trying to catch up. I know coach (Tim) Goodrich and the Kent Island Buccaneers, when they come to town (Friday) they’re going to have a good game plan. We’re going to have to be ready for them, and we’re going to have to grow up in a hurry on that offensive line so we can be ready, hopefully have success against those guys.”

The defense figures to again be tough and flock to the ball quickly.

“We pride ourself on running fast to the football, striking it and driving it backwards,” Burnham said. “That’s how we coach defense, and that’s the expectation.”

Senior Zion Pinder (6-1, 250) and Johnson start at the tackles, flanking sophomore nose guard Reggie Parker Jr. (5-11, 275). Hollowell and Spies are at inside linebacker. Hall is at one outside linebacking spot and will be joined by either senior Steven Marine (5-10, 150) or Paxton Adkins (6-0, 160). Jones and Cornish return at the corners, with Evans at one safety and sophomore Tyion Parker (6-0, 160) at the other.

“We have some of that big-play potential that we had before,” Burnham said. “We have a consistency in our run game, and we’ve shown growth over the course of the last couple weeks. We’ve gotten better each day. We’re almost there. We got a chance to be at the level we expect to be at really really soon, but we’re going to have to continue to improve. And hopefully we can get more than 10 (wins). That’s our goal.”