Better late than never.

It’s not like Pierce High football was broken or anything like that, but this is a program with a particular set of standards and, frankly, Big Blue wasn’t always meeting them. In practice specifically, and that led to a couple of regular season learning moments.

“We are finally getting to the point where we are practicing at a high level,” says head coach Mark Brahmer, a three-time state champion who for the eighth time will lead a Pierce High team into a state football final. “It’s always a tremendous feeling to play your way into the final.” Guess he should know.

And his Bluejays must be quick learners. They have certainly risen to the occasion this postseason, defending its 2020 Class C-1 state title by first defeating undefeated No. 1 seed Ashland-Greenwood in the quarterfinals then avenging one of its two losses in last week’s semifinals, beating Battle Creek 21-0.

Pierce (10-2) now moves into the program’s 11th all-time state final where it will meet Columbus Lakeview (10-2), the 11-seed which has proven to be one of the great stories of the 2021 postseason. Kickoff for the championship will be next Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, 10:45 a.m. sharp.

And you’re right, this game does seem familiar. The teams met way back in Week 2, when Pierce was trying to get its championship self together, and Lakeview was a promising preseason team that was out to make a statement of sorts. And did, though the Vikings came up short that night, losing 28-27 when a two-point conversion failed on the game’s final play. Lakeview was good, had to be to play Pierce like that.

Didn’t happen immediately - Lakeview lost to Wayne the following week - but it did happen, as the Vikings went on a nine-game winning streak. Included in that joy ride was the five-touchdown win against a really good Columbus Scotus team in Week 9, followed by a postseason opening win over Milford and an impressive 23-20 win over once-No. 1 Boone Central. Last week the Vikings put an exclamation point on its rise to power with a 31-21 win over unbeaten Kearney Catholic. Remember, the Stars hadn’t allowed more than 13 points in a game all season long.

“Our players had a great week of prep leading up to the game. They did a great job of giving Kearney Catholic their full attention and it paid dividends on game night,” says Lakeview head coach Kurt Frenzen, who is having himself quite the football year, as he was also the winning head coach in the 2021 Shrine Bowl. “As for having our team in the finals it is a great feeling but honestly we haven’t stopped to think about it much our players and coaching staff has quickly turned their attention and focus to game planning for Pierce.”

Understood, but to paraphrase Dan Aykroyd in the movie Tommy Boy hopefully Coach Frenzen and Lakeview did savor the flavor just a tad since this is only the second time the program has reached a state final, the other coming in 1990.

When Lakeview makes something happen on offense you can pretty well bet Adam Van Cleave was in there somewhere. A returning all-stater, Van Cleave is a threat as a runner, receiver and kick returning and is a pretty good bet to make a couple of big plays next Tuesday.

* Pierce needed an 11th hour touchdown to get past Ashland-Greenwood but put together an outstanding performance in the semifinals win over Battle Creek, showing balance on offense and shutting the door on what had been a very good BC offensive attack.

“I am really proud of how our guys practiced and played last week to prepare for and ultimately beat a very good Battle Creek team who has good athletes and football players and are very well coached,” says Coach Brahmer.

When you have a future Husker on hand folks take notice, but even with the extra attention junior Ben Brahmer has still posted monster numbers this season, catching a thousand yards worth of passes, including a 35-yard TD in the Battle Creek win.

As we talked last week Pierce High senior Michael Kruntorad is having a huge postseason and was at it again last week with two more touchdowns. Junior QB Abram Scholting has thrown for two thousand yards, and senior Matt Christensen is the team’s leading tackler. Senior all-state candidate Colton Fritz is the team’s leading tackler.

“Although there’s a lot of hard work and time that goes into preparing for the championship game, it’s important to enjoy the experience, the toil,” says Coach Brahmer, who’s been there. “It will take a tremendous effort in our practice and preparation to beat a great Lakeview team. They are very talented and very well coached.”