T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Front row, left to right: Cael Keller, Orlando Montoya, Emmitt Petermeier, Jeff Conaway. Back row: Evan Andrews, Liam Speicher, Alex Paxson, Owen Myers. Extra mugshots, in order: Logan Scafferi, Ryan Busch, Carson Wayman, Kevin Hill, Carter Gallentine, Sam Garber.

CONRAD — BCLUW football is hungrier than ever.

Coming off a bounce back season in Jeff Pikna’s first year as head coach, Pikna said the year-over-year change in the determination of the Comets ahead of this fall’s kickoff is noticeable.

BCLUW went from winless in 2021 to 4-4 in 2022.

“Not exactly winning the Super Bowl,” Pikna said. “… But we know we did something good, and we’re far from being done.”

The next step starts at the line of scrimmage with an upperclassman-heavy offensive line, including seniors Evan Andrews, Orlando Montoya, Alex Paxson, Jeff Conaway and junior Emmitt Petermeier, who was an all-district center last season.

“They’ve done everything we’ve asked,” Pikna said. “The way they’ve picked this up, we have full faith that every Friday night we can do anything that we have in our playbook and they’ll block to our full expectations because they’ve done nothing but be completely committed to this team.”

Cael Keller is the other returning all-district selection as an honorable mention last season, but the senior receiver is showing a zeal for stepping up this fall.

“He was kind of an understudy for [BCLUW grad] Connor Lynch last season,” Pikna said. “He watched the way guys like him or Walker Ashton worked and said ‘I want to be that guy this year.’ And we’ve got Owen Myers, a junior, who’s great at backing up the line and the whole line backs him up.

“They all want that same environment [from last season], they saw how far the leadership took them and how the camaraderie of the team changed the environment, something they had never felt before.”

When he was promoted to head coach, Pikna encouraged the Comets to be part of the BCLUW community, including community service and outreach efforts.

In turn, it didn’t take the BCLUW community much convincing to show up and support the team.

“The momentum was built through the community — it was packed, people wanted to be here on Friday nights, even those that didn’t usually come to games,” Pikna said. “Just a completely different atmosphere.”

Beyond the offensive line returning experience, Pikna wants to see the Comets embrace a defensive focus — they return about half of their defensive production, led by Petermeier who had a team-best 6.5 tackles for loss last season.

To that end, Pikna brought in Nolan Freeman, a Grundy Center and 2021 Upper Iowa alum, to help coach the defense.

“The kids love listening to him,” Pikna said. “We’re really trying to be a defensive team first, and that can be difficult when the techniques they’re learning change from coach to coach over the years, you could tell the kids were trying to get it down last year.

“The problem last year was that we were trying to make a play to have a highlight on YouTube and for every sack we’d get we’d get lit up on the other 10 plays. Sometimes you can make the play without making the play. And we’re working to correct this.”

BCLUW starts the season at East Marshall on Aug. 25 and begins Class A District 3 play at home against AGWSR on Sept. 1.

“We’re still a work in progress,” Pikna said. “There’s some familiarity with our district schedule and in a sport that’s always constantly changing it’s good to see some of the same old cats. The guys know they’re the teams they’ve played since they were young and you’re executing like you always have against them.”

2023 SCHEDULE

Aug. 25 at East Marshall, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 1 AGWSR

Sept. 8 NASHUA-PLAINFIELD

Sept. 15 at North Tama

Sept. 22 NORTH BUTLER

Sept. 29 MARTENSDALE-ST. MARYS

Oct. 6 at Wapsie Valley

Oct. 13 at South Winneshiek

* all games 7 p.m. unless noted