ONALASKA — Logan Pierce is certainly a player that Luther High School football coach Jeff Komay knew his team could count on when the season began.
Pierce is athletic, he is experienced, and he plays important positions as a running back and linebacker.
But expecting Pierce to do what he has done through three games wasn’t realistic when the Knights were getting ready to kick things off against Tomahawk in Week 1.
What Pierce has done since that day is a big reason for Luther entering Friday’s Coulee Conference home game against Viroqua with a 3-0 record.
“The thing about Logan that stands out is that he is steady,” Komay said of his senior. “He wants to handle the rock, and he’s done that. Defensively, he’s done great. When he comes to the sideline, you can see that he’s enjoying the game.”
He should be, and so should his teammates. The Knights have just won three games, they have dominated three games.
Luther has outscored its opponents 87-18, and a big part of that are the nine touchdowns scored in so many ways by Pierce.
He has carried 59 times for 391 yards and seven touchdowns, made a team-high 28 tackles (two for loss), recovered a fumble, returned an interception for a touchdown and returned a blocked punt 20 yards for a touchdown.
Pierce rushed for three touchdowns, had the interception return and the returned blocked punt all in a 40-6 victory over Bangor in Week 2.
That’s a heck of a game for any high school player,” Komay said. “He is all over the field, and he was in the right places at the right times that nig. He has a real knack for the ball, and that was an incredibly fun thing to watch.”
Komay had the luxury of returning an experienced team this fall, and many of his players are showing how much that means on the field.
Senior Peter Sobilik had 74 rushing and receiving yards, intercepted two passes and kicked two field goals in a 20-6 win over G-E-T in Week 3. Sophomore Finn Rick has 26 tackles and a fumble recovery, senior receiver Ashton Kendall seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown and junior Jaden Kolb four tackles for loss with two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Senior Sam Schmeling has 23 tackles (2 for loss), a forced fumble and a touchdown runs.
“What I hoped to see and what I’ve seen is them playing with unity,” Komay said. “(G-E-T) went down and scored, but there were no heads down, and that’s what I was hoping for. They just got right back in it.”
Luther’s biggest tests of the season will come in Weeks 6 and 9. The Knights host West Salem (3-0, 1-0) in Week 6 and play Aquinas (2-1, 0-1) at UW-L to close out the regular season. After playing Viroqua (0-3, 0-1) this week, Luther plays at high-scoring Arcadia (3-0, 1-0) in Week 5.
While Pierce was full of big plays in Week 2, he helped the Knights control the game against G-E-T in a more typical fashion. He carried 28 times for 132 yards and a touchdown against the Red Hawks and had nine tackles.
