The first year under coach Charlie Roherty saw the Cameron Comets football team have a very successful season in winning the Heart O’ North and then two playoff games. Returning to the field this fall, the Comets have a new-look conference and enough pieces to transition well to the new league in Roherty’s second campaign.
The Comets will lean on their veterans up front on both sides of the ball but will be looking for a number of less-experienced players to step into bigger roles at the skill positions.
“The new guys coming in, they’re juniors and seniors,” Roherty said. “They’re physical enough and strong enough to be in that spot, but our biggest hurdle is going to be mentally this year.”
Cameron was 6-1 in the Heart O’ North last year to finish atop the standings with Northwestern. The Comets then won two playoff games for the first time in program history and ended the season with a 9-3 overall mark. The Comets will have to regroup as they join the Lakeland Conference after graduating both the offensive and defensive players of the year in the Heart O’ North.
Where Cameron does have experience is at the line of scrimmage where four of five starting offensive lineman return. The senior group of Zac Folz, Tyler Phillips, Michael Reynolds and Parker Wilson have all started since early in their high school careers.
“It’s comforting on both sides of the ball to have that experience but also that size,” Roherty said. “People can’t really match up. They are our true leaders this year. We’re building a house because our foundation is already there — that’s the big guys.”
Phillips and Reynolds are coming off of junior campaigns in which they received postseason accolades. Phillips was an all-region selection by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association at offensive line, and both Phillips and Reynolds were on the Heart O’ North All-Conference first team for offense.
On the defensive line, Reynolds was named an all-state honorable mention, Phillips was all-region and both were all-conference first team selections. Reynolds had five sacks and eight tackles for loss last season, and he also forced two fumbles and recovered three. Phillips, a Minnesota-Duluth commit, finished third on the team with 67 tackles, which included eight for loss and one sack.
Cameron lost three-year starting quarterback Tyson Lucas to graduation after he was the conference’s co-offensive player of the year and an all-region pick. At that position this season are a pair of options in junior Jayton Silvernail, who Roherty called the smartest player on the team, and sophomore AJ Guerra, who his coach said looks as close to Lucas throwing the ball as you can get.
“For the first time we’re going to have two quarterbacks, so I’m not switching my entire offense if one quarterback goes down like last year,” Roherty said. “We’re better all-around as a team, we’ve just got to get the experience up.”
Senior Cole Peterson returns as the lone key offensive weapon from last year. He ran for a team-leading 850 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging more than six yards per carry. Cameron had its next three highest rushers and its top four receivers from last year all graduate.
Senior Parker Davis at 6 feet, 5 inches, and junior Michael Gronski at 6 feet, 3 inches, are two players who have good size and are positioned to be top options through the air.
“They are going to be good weapons for us, it’s just getting those reps and the experience to get there,” Roherty said.
Defensively the Comets have Phillips and Reynolds up front, but at the next level the last year’s conference defensive player of the year, all-state honorable mention and leading tackler Damien Bell graduated, along with all-region pick Caden Anderson. Peterson provides one returning starter at inside linebacker after he had 64 tackles, including seven for loss, two sacks and an interception.
Roherty said the secondary has the most question marks, although Silvernail provides leadership at safety and the coaching staff is looking for senior Mark Pond to step up at cornerback.
Cameron moves into the Lakeland, which includes smaller schools than in the Heart O’ North, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of very strong teams. Roherty knows his team has the talent to compete at the top of the standings, but it’s about showing up focused for all four quarters each week that will determine the Comets’ fate.
“You lose St. Croix Falls and Northwestern, and you still pick up Unity, Ladysmith and Grantsburg,” Roherty said of the conference landscape. “We have the ability to go 7-2 or 6-3, and we have the ability to go 3-6 or 2-7. It’s just who is going to show up and be physically and mentally be there.”
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