Daniel Boone football team ready to begin a new chapter

Aug. 11—J.D. Okuniewski has been around Daniel Boone football for a long time, first as a player before graduating in 2013, then for six seasons as an assistant coach.

But this season is different.

Now Okuniewski is the head coach for the first time.

"Anxious right now, a lot of work (to do)," Okuniewski said. "Anxious for it to start. I'm done with the summer."

Okuniewski is looking to guide the Blazers to the postseason for the first time since 2021. Boone went 1-5 in Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3, 2-8 overall last season.

"New coach, new mentality, all ready to roll," senior lineman Jordan Meyer said. "These are our boys. We're here, we're ready, we're hungry, ready to win, eager to play. Going to be changes here, so I'm excited."

It appears evident that the whole locker room is ready to begin a new chapter under Okuniewski.

"Different mentality," said junior Max Heffner, a wide receiver/defensive back. "Everyone's really excited to play for this new head coach. He's bringing in a lot of energy, a lot of new people. The coaching staff all played together, so they have that chemistry. We're excited to play and ready to win."

Last season, the Blazers opened 1-2 before losing six straight. They beat Fleetwood 35-8 in their finale under coach Rob Flowers, now the wide receivers coach at Albright. Flowers, who Okuniewski considers a mentor, resigned last December after leading Boone to a 17-31 record in five seasons, saying he wanted to take time to focus on his position as Director of Community Relations and Equity Awareness at Boone.

The Blazers were outscored by 121 points last season.

"I feel like last year the seniors were kind of in their own world, but this year I feel like we're all together and it's going to be way better," said junior Anthony High, a tight end/middle linebacker. "I feel like last year there was a lot of bad chemistry. This year is just to be more of a team, and (we're ready) to come through and win this year."

Even after a tough 2022 season, Okuniewski sees his team's potential.

"Getting back to the playoffs," Okuniewski said. "Obviously, that's our goal. We're trying to win. It really comes down to these guys buying in and players playing the game. I always tell them they're performers. We're helping them perform, but it's up to them at the end of the day. You have to go out, you have to win.

"We're going to put you in the best position that we think we can get in, but it's really going to be up to them buying in, doing the right things, working hard and working efficiently."

Two players who Okuniewski said he anticipates leading the charge are seniors Dean Rotter, a quarterback/safety, and Ethan Kryman, a wide receiver/outside linebacker.

"You don't get many kids like Dean Rotter and Ethan Kryman," Okunsiewski said about his captains.

Rotter completed 93-of-207 passes for 1,208 yards and eight touchdowns last season with nine interceptions. He also ran for 548 yards and seven TDs on 76 carries.

"Dean Rotter, it's just getting him to understand what you can control," said Okuniewski, who played QB as a senior at Boone. "The kid has a great football mind. ... It's more like just play the game, just play and have fun. Don't worry, don't put it all on you to make sure that we're going to be successful. It's a group effort. So he's really bought into that and he's had a great, great offseason throwing the ball and running it."

As a sophomore in 2021, Rotter completed 80-of-135 passes for 966 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.

"My goals and expectations for this year are just to go out there and have fun in my last year," Rotter said. "We're hungry. Going to continue to keep doing our thing and hopefully the outcome shows."

Kryman scored a team-high four touchdowns last season. He caught nine passes for 73 yards and had 121 carries for 532 yards.

"Kryman had a little bit of an offseason injury issue lingering and we had to keep him out," Okuniewski said. "He would get frustrated. (We'd say), 'No, you're not lifting. You're not running the hill.' But that's a kid, we were in spring practice and I turned my back for 10 minutes to go do something, come back, and there he is on the hill. I tell him, 'You got to be smarter than that.'

"Ready to put the pads on and hit and get going," Kryman said.

While discussing his team from a playbook aspect, Okuniewski said he is going to implement everything he has learned over the years, plus put his own spin on it.

The Blazers will run a multiple-style offense. From being in shotgun to I-Formation to a Wing-T, the offense will be versatile, Okuniewski said.

On defense, Boone will continue to run a 3-4 front, but will move some players around.

Returning to the playoffs is not the only goal this season for Okuniewski and his staff.

He said wants to see the Blazers play tough even when things get difficult. In past seasons, he said, he has seen players get off the bus, see the size difference between the Blazers and their opponent and decide they could not win the game.

"It's like we go into a game and it's like we're afraid already," he said. "We did a lot to try to correct that, but that's been a major emphasis. I want to be as competitive, not get blown off the field and come off the bus accepting that we can't win. We want to go in with a punch and have a shot."

Okuniewski said he doesn't see the size difference as a disadvantage, but rather as something for his kids to embrace.

"Culture-wise, one of the things I look at as Daniel Boone, things are a little bit different," Okuniewski said. "I feel it is very important that we really have to embrace what we are. We're undersized, we don't have the funds as everybody else and that's OK. We've got to play the game a little bit differently than everybody else and we're going to find it to be successful."

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A look at the Blazers

Coach: J.D. Okuniewski, first season

Last year: 1-5 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3, 2-8.

PIAA classification: Class 4A.

Schedule: Aug. 25, at Exeter; Sept. 1, Conestoga Valley; Sept. 8, Muhlenberg; Sept. 15, at Garden Spot; Sept. 22, at Ephrata; Sept. 29, Elizabethtown; Oct. 6, Penn Manor; Oct. 13, at Solanco; Oct. 20, at Twin Valley; Oct. 27, Fleetwood.