BGM rebuilds into a winner

It hasn't been long since BGM couldn't compete with other prep football programs.Literally, just six years ago the Bears had to scrap varsity competition and settle for playing a strictly junior varsity schedule.The program's turnaround has been impressive, posting its third straight winning season and postseason appearance when it hosts English Valleys in a Class A first-round playoff game at Brooklyn on Wednesday.The Bears claimed the A District 6 title with a 6-0 record, going 8-1 overall with its only loss coming to 2A top-ranked Iowa City Regina. It's been a far journey from a season without football in 2004 and a 3-6 season sandwiched between one-win campaigns."The kids didn't know how to win," BGM Coach Jerod Burns said. "They didn't know how to work for what they wanted to accomplish. That's where it all started for us. We had to figure out how to get these kids to get the corner turned and want to compete for something they never accomplished before."The trek started in the offseason and in the BGM weight room. Increased workout regimens have powered the bears' success. Burns had a strong influence of getting the players to buy into strength training and conditioning in the offseason and exhibit an ownership of the program."A huge part," Senior Jevohn Miller said. "He's in the weight room every single day in the offseason."At the beginning it drove players to want to work out to want to be better and now you have seniors that are leading the workouts, but he's still in there driving us the whole time."Miller was quick to praise Burns and the coaching staff's effort. He said they put the Bears in a position to be able to win each week. A turnaround from when wins were scarce."We know we've had that preparation so we should win," Miller said. "We're capable of winning every game."Burns, who took over as head coach in 2005 after two seasons as an assistant, guided the Bears to a 6-5 record in 2008, which was the program's first winning season since 1978. The success has generated more excitement. The football team has become something the community has rallied around on gameday. "There's been way more people. People are talking about it all the time now," senior Kyle Hawkins said. "It's a lot better atmosphere now that we're winning. People are happier."Not only more fans but significantly more players. The Bears only had 21 players in 2004, which forced the schedule change. The BGM roster consists of 43 players this season, which is down a tad from its normal 45 to 50, according to Burns."We've got a small senior class this year, but we have a big freshman and a big junior class," Burns said. "We'll have another big freshman class coming in so it should stay around 50 the next few seasons."The Bears are led by Danny Brau, who is just 13 yards shy of eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark. Brau has 15 touchdowns this season, which is tops on the team. Burns has kept to the plan of getting the ball in Brau's hands 15 to 20 times a game."He does a nice job for us," Burns said. "He's got some pretty good wheels."Miller and Hawkins have contributed offensively. Miller, who orally committed to play at Iowa State next season, 611 rushing yards and nine TDs, while Hawkins has 610 rushing yards with five scores. Miller is also among the team leaders in receiving with 215 yards and a touchdown."They're both great athletes," Burns said. "We try to find ways to get them involved."The Bears will look to improve on their finish the last two seasons when they were knocked out in the first round of the state playoffs. They possess higher goals of reaching the UNI-Dome, which is light years away from when they were reduced to playing only junior varsity games."Our goal is to get to the UNI-Dome. It's something we've never done before," Hawkins said. "I think it would be an awesome thing for this program."We just need to play the football that we're capable of playing every single play. That will take us a long ways."