Cardinal football adds new hire, opponent

Student athletes at Cardinal will be gaining a new strength and weight training coach with the addition of Comet coach Tyler Archer's brother Cory who is currently finishing up his teaching year at Red Oak before replacing Quinn Vesely who is going to Carlisle.

'He blew us away with strategic ways to get kids in the weight room and that's what we were looking for,” said head football coach Landon Miller. 'We want someone to relate to our kids and understand that this isn't a college where athletes aren't getting compensated to work hard. From all of his references, he's going to be a kid-magnet.”

Third year

Miller is headed into his third season with Cardinal, one that many fans believe is the first year a coach's playbook and philosophies have been fully integrated due to graduation and incoming players.

'We made a big jump last year,” said Miller. 'Going into this season, we are going to have one of the bigger senior classes Cardinal has had in a while. Our numbers have increased from 19 to 24 to an expected 33. You never know how that is going to go, but increasing participation when the numbers are decreasing across the sport is something we're proud of.”

Schedule change

Week 3 opponent Grandview Christian folded their program. 'We picked up Columbus Junction week 0,” explained Miller who is up for the challenge of starting the year early on the road and then having a bye during week three before districts begin in week five.

'I think Columbus is in a similar situation as we are where the program is building,” added the Comet's coach. 'I believe that they are getting a new coach, which makes me nervous because you never know what you are going to get game one, but we are similar schools who are both trying to build something.”

With coaches regularly stepping down, Miller is planning on staying at Cardinal for some time.

'I tell the kids, mission is not accomplished yet.”