There’s a different feeling about BCLUW football this season.

In a turnaround that not many people outside of the program expected heading into the year, the Comets have gone from a winless 2021 season to already 3-1 halfway through the 2022 regular season. It’s the best season BCLUW has had since a 4-5 campaign in 2017, and the Comets still have a minimum of four games left to play. The 3-1 record is the best start to a season for the Comets since they went 4-1 to start the 2008 campaign before finishing 5-4.

Friday night, the Comets will celebrate homecoming with a matchup against 3-1 Nashua-Plainfield. A win would guarantee BCLUW an improbable .500 season, but head coach Jeff Pikna is not letting the Comets get too high on their own performances — even with the town of Conrad abuzz with hype.

“We kind of expected this about ourselves, as corny as it sounds,” Pikna said. “We’re just happy where we’re at right now and just kind of riding it out right now, continuing to work hard because we know the season’s not over.”

In Pikna’s first year as the Comets’ head coach, he’s turned them into a team that thrives in close games. Only one game has ended with more than one score separating the two teams, and the Comets are 2-1 in games decided by six points or less.

He said there has been a big change in attitude and mentality around the program, and the seeds of the Comets’ surprising success were planted in the summer during workouts.

“The shift has been huge,” Pikna said. “The percentage of kids we had going to lifting this summer without missing was unreal. I would say the biggest difference between this year and last year is not only the kids being used to the program, but we’ve set clear cut examples from day one.

“They took it seriously. They knew that, even though it might not be the No. 1 thing they wanted to do with their summer, they knew that’s what it would take to get to where we are.”

Offense has been a key area of improvement for the Comets, particularly with regards to how the team has been moving the ball. In 2021 BCLUW threw the ball 103 times over eight games, completing only 36 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns compared to seven interceptions.

Four games in, new starting quarterback Walker Ashton has been on a tear — completing 47 of his 77 attempts for 603 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 12.8 yards per completion. Ashton’s favorite target to this point has been senior Connor Lynch. Lynch has caught 20 passes for 335 yards and three scores. Junior Cael Keller has 15 grabs for 177 yards and two scores as well.

This new dimension to the Comets’ offense has allowed the team to work on its run game over the course of the season, attempting to continue improvements from 2021’s dismal mark of 2.4 yards per carry.

BCLUW isn’t gashing teams yet — averaging 3.3 yards per carry as a team, with Tyler Bracy setting the pace at 89 yards on 30 carries — but Pikna said the win over North Butler was a step in the right direction.

“We’re kind of more balanced and we know we can do what we need to do to get the offense moving,” Pikna said.

The surprise package of the area still has difficult games upcoming against North Tama, Grundy Center and Wapsie Valley to end the regular season, making a playoff appearance anything but assured.

Still, ahead of kickoff against Nashua-Plainfield at 7 p.m. on Friday, the mood in the BCLUW camp is the best it’s been in years.