AUBURN - It's a routine gesture, a way to get the program excited and the season officially started, but this year, the standing ovation was more than warranted.

Over 90 hopeful Auburn football players went from casually milling around and setting up for the first day of football camp on Monday, to forming a dozen straight lines that would make any military unit proud. Then, as Dave Moskov and the rest of the Auburn coaches strolled down the cement path behind Holland Stadium, the clapping started and didn't stop for several minutes.

“They always clap when we come down - just to get things started,” Moskov said. “The kids are excited to get going. They know it's tough, but it's always a mindset around here. You focus on yourself, you challenge yourself and there is something positive that can happen with young people when they push themselves like this. It's tough, but they also know in two weeks, we're going to be a lot better.”

The defending Class AA state champions have been honored all over Auburn, Cayuga County and at the State Capitol, but most of them have been waiting to just get back on the field. Not that all of the accolades from the community hasn't meant a lot to the team.

“The community has been a big part of what we do,” said Nick Lepak, lineman and co-captain of the Maroons. “We've enjoyed everything we've done for them and what they've done for us. They've been very supportive and behind us the whole way.”

While interest in the Auburn football program has steadily increased over the last decade, the numbers were noticeably swelled on day one.

“We're flexing our numbers - we've got close to 50 kids out for varsity and another 40 out for JV,” Moskov said. “It's tremendous. I remember seven or eight years ago, we had 22 kids on varsity and 16 on JV, so it's come a long way. We've also got a huge surge in numbers at the modified level - it's a huge jump. We've got a lot of kids out here. It's just a progression, I think. Year after year, we've seen more kids and there's more out here this year, state title or not. There's a lot of positive energy around the program and it's attracted some new kids.”

The increase in player interest this season should only benefit the Maroons this season, since they were one of the smallest in Section III, Class AA last year - most players played both offense and defense and co-captain Matt Hoey played six different positions.

Auburn kicks off it's season in 17 days, at home against Cicero-North Syracuse, in a rematch of last season's game when the lights went out at Holland Stadium.