By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

The Lafayette Christian School football team is as ready as ever.

The Cougars completed their first season in school history with a two-win campaign last year, and with spring and summer sessions under their belts, they’re ready to give it another try.

Head coach Nick Nehring said his team has participated in workouts three days a week all summer, and when fall practice gets under way Monday, the Cougars will be ready to compete.

“They’ve worked really hard all summer,” said Nehring, who was Lafayette’s coach in its inaugural season. “We actually finished summer conditioning (Friday). We’re all real excited about getting practice started.”

Lafayette will return eight seniors, including quarterback Brian Anderson and fullback Jarred Pike.

Junior running back Nathan Chola was also one the team’s biggest playmakers last season and he’ll be back for another round of the eight-man team football season.

“We’ve got a lot of our skill guys back,” Nehring said. “We’ve also got a good group of seniors. They’ll be the core of our leadership.”

Lafayette opens the 2009 season Aug. 21 against Golden Acres, a team that the Cougars split two games with last season.

One of the biggest needs for the team is to be more physical at the line of scrimmage, and that’s an area Nehring will put a big emphasis on when practice begins.

“Our main goal still is to win the line of scrimmage on both the offensive and defensive lines,” Nehring said. “That will continue to be our main focus.”

With another year experience, Nehring expects the Cougars to be much improved come game time.

“They’re definitely more comfortable,” Nehring said. “Having a year is such a huge difference. They understand things a lot better and know what to do.”