They say that a player’s greatest improvement in a football player is between year one and year two in a given system. The same might be true with head coaches tasked with rebuilding the program itself.

Scott Chadwick had the pedigree and the ability to make a difference when he arrived at Clayton High last summer. What he didn’t have was time.

Fast forward about a year and a half, and his fingerprints all over the Comets. The team has 10 wins, and is a few plays away from being undefeated.

Senior quarterback Johnathan Montague has made his one season in blue and white count, tallying more than 3,600 total yards of offense and 48 touchdowns. That’s been more than enough on most nights for a defense that’s allowing only 14.8 points per game.

Still, the Massey Index is unimpressed by the Comets’ chances on Friday night against Cardinal Gibbons. The Crusaders are a 19.5-point favorite, which seems a little harsh at first glance.

Still, they are very good.

Backup quarterback Gannon Jones has been excellent, tossing 25 touchdowns while piling up 1,706 yards in eight games. He’s also the third-leading rusher with 253 yards. The Crusaders get that done by committee, with Nic Leonard (455, 3 TD) and Amir Brown (446, 4 TD) getting most of the work.

Aiden Smalls is the leading receiver with 70 grabs for 827 yards and 11 TD, while Chet Yardley follows with 40 catches for 724 yards and 10 more scores.

Braylon Peebles (124 tackles) leads a defense that stifled Millbrook’s offense last week, and the Crusaders own a 3-1 edge in this series during the MaxPreps era.

As of now, this game is still set for Friday night at 7, and we’ll see if the Comets can keep their 2023 season going.