EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – The Pike Central Chargers hope to get back on track in 2022 and improve from there. With some closer games down the stretch last year and a first-round win over Princeton, that’s definitely a strong possibility.

It’s JJ Howald’s second year leading the program, and after a year of building, they’ve hit the ground running fast and hard this offseason.

“We got some scrapes and bruises implementing the system. Instead of having to actually implement the system this year, we can work on the techniques and all that stuff,” said head coach JJ Howald. “This summer and the first couple weeks have gone really well. We’re going to be really good on defense, I think we have the best linebacker group we’ve had in a long time. Like I said, confidence-wise, we’re going to be able to play faster because we’re not investing anything. We’re doing the same thing we did last year, so we’re just confident that we’re not learning, we’re not overthinking, we’re just going to go out there and play football.”

For one of the seniors, Conner Loveless, this offseason just felt different.

“Everyone is really focused and trying hard,” senior receiver Conner Loveless said. “In the past, we’ve been complacent and just haven’t played our best and put in the effort overall. Everyone is really trying their best.”

“Just win a few more games and get better overall as a player,” senior quarterback Matthew Meadows said. “Help the young guys learn, help Carson get better as a quarterback so he can be a good quarterback when he starts playing.”

Pike Central begins its season next Friday against Clarksville.

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