Hadenfelt finishing what he started in Eldon

Consistency hasn?t always been easy to come by at Cardinal, but head football coach Adam Hadenfelt is beginning to provide a little of it in his second season at the helm.

After becoming the third Comet head coach in four seasons in 2011, Hadenfelt is back for his second year and looks to finish what he started last fall.

?We?ve been really focused on getting better all the time,? said Hadenfelt. ?We are young, but we?re really excited about this year. We have hard working guys who can hopefully turn their work into wins.?

Although Cardinal lost a large senior group from the 2011 squad, optimism remains high within the program thanks to a new athletic senior class. Although the class is just six players deep, Hadenfelt anticipates each one of them having a big impact in 2012.

One of those seniors, Dakota Showman, is set to start the season under center. The speedy play caller shared time there with junior Tyler Batterson last year but will now get the lion?s share of snaps.

?Dakota?s going to start there, but we?re going to use [Batterson] there, too,? said Hadenfelt. ?They?re both great with making decisions and throwing the football, and we feel like we have a lot of good depth at the quarterback position.?

Joining Showman in the backfield will be Jonathan Pedersen, who will run the football and do just about everything else under the sun.

?He?s a very good athlete,? said Hadenfelt. ?He can play halfback or fullback, and we?re also excited to see him on defense [at linebacker.] He?s also an excellent kicker.?

In addition, seniors Cody Carter and Neil Urtado will be running routes as two of Showman?s biggest targets. Carter, a wide receiver, led the Comets in receiving last season with 133 yards in seven catches, and Urtado is expected to have an expanded role at tight end.

?Those four seniors (Showman, Pedersen, Carter and Urtado) are guys who played a lot of football in the past, and we can count on big things from them this year,? Hadenfelt said.

Big-bodied seniors linemen Jonathan Ramos and Patrick Lind will get time on both sides of the ball, as well.

The bright side of having just six seniors?

?There are opportunities for all sorts of people to have a great impact, and we?ve had a lot of guys step up. We?re excited to put it all together now,? Hadenfelt said.

One young player to definitely get excited about is Nathan Yeager, who started last season as a freshman. The powerful, 208-pound sophomore will be a playmaker from the fullback position and also turn heads as Cardinal?s starting middle linebacker.

?The biggest compliment I can give Nathan is that he?s a football player. He?s going to carry a very heavy load for us,? said Hadenfelt. ?The better things go for him, the better they will go for us. He?s just that important to what we?re trying to do here.?

Junior Josh Ramos is the only returning offensive lineman from last year and will line up next to fellow junior Logan Laughlin, a newcomer at the tackle position.

The Comets open the season Friday at Van Buren.