For Andy Marino, it is all about putting on the pads.

The first-year Whitehall head football coach has been pleased by what he has seen from his troops during the team’s spring and summer workouts.

Whitehall is the defending district Class 5A champion, as they defeated Southern Lehigh. 43-17 for the title. Their 8-6 season ended with a loss to Imhotep Charter, 55-7, in the state playoffs. Former head coach Matt Senneca resigned, and he later was named head coach at Easton.

So, enter Marino, who had a stop at Lehigh, and he has recruited in the Lehigh Valley. Yet, Marino has tempered his enthusiasm.

“I’m excited, and I feel like we are ready to go,” said Marino in anticipation of the official first day of practice Aug. 14. “We still have a lot of work to do. We had a good summer, but we need to find out who we are. We’ll have a better idea after we put on the pads for practice.”

Marino was pleased with the team’ seven-on sevens, and the program recently hosted one of the larger ones in the tri-state.

“We saw a lot of positive things,” he added. “It was good for us to go against teams that were from out of the area. We were able to play to some of our strengths. We had a better handle of some positions, but we still have some to figure out.”

Senior quarterback Trey Dogmanits is back at the controls. He threw for 1,997 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season. Dogmanits threw for 275 yards and five touchdowns in the district final.

Marino has liked what he has seen so far from his senior.

“He looks very comfortable,” said Marino. “I obviously didn’t see him last year, but he has grown since I have watched him. Our quarterbacks coach has been working on his fundamentals, and Dogmanits has really adjusted well. We expect some big things from him, and he has some receivers back with him this year.”

Marino is waiting to see how some other spots on both sides of the ball will evolve during camp. The Zephyrs will scrimmage Jersey Shore Aug. 19 before their season opener against Allen Aug. 25.

“We’ll have a better read once we start practice,” said Marino. “But these guys are confident and ready to go.”