CONRAD — The BCLUW football team hits the field Friday against East Marshall for the first game of the season with a very similar coaching staff, but there’s a new head man on the scene in Conrad — head coach Jeff Pikna.

The Comets promoted Pikna to head coach for the 2022 campaign, and he said one of the biggest pluses of taking on this new role has been the continuity he inherited.

“It’s not all completely new and we recognize a lot of the things we did, there was a lot more camaraderie the second time around,” Pikna said. “We knew what we expected, knew what to say and do on any given day.

It’s an adjustment period, but with the report we have with the students and players it’s much easier for them to trust us and pick it up than last year.”

BCLUW is coming off a

winless 2021 season, going 0-8 and losing every game by 20 or more points. Six seniors return from that difficult season, and while Pikna said there won’t be huge changes schematically on either side of the ball there are some adjustments being made to put the Comets on better footing.

Balancing out the offense was a key point for Pikna, moving slightly away from the run-heavy style of last season.

The top rusher returning for BCLUW is one of the six seniors, Tyler Bracy. Bracy ran for 159 yards on 32 carries last season with one score. The leading receiver for the Comets, Connor Lynch, will also be a senior. Lynch grabbed 14 receptions for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Pikna said the senior core of this team — which includes Parker Pike, Lane Hartwig, Walker Ashton and Matthew Hunt — has been instrumental in a good fall camp showing from the team.

“We’ve kind of put a lot of power in their hands,” Pikna said. “Not necessarily in drawing things up and running things, but more in the sense of team decision making and team camaraderie, stuff like that. As of late especially, we’ve been very happy seeing how they take charge and kind of hold each other accountable without being critical of each other. They’re great teachers.”

The schedule isn’t an easy one, with matchups on the docket against Grundy Center and Wapsie Valley in the last two weeks of the season — the top two teams in Class A District 3 last season. BCLUW begins its season with a home matchup against East Marshall, and a road game at Hudson on Sept. 2. On Sept. 9, the Comets host AGWSR. BCLUW’s other home games include Homecoming against Nashua-Plainfield on Sept. 23 and the regular-season finale against Wapsie Valley on Oct. 14. The Comets visit North Butler on Sept. 16 and North Tama Sept. 30.