It Starts again!

The 2026 Season, full of questions, but also potential, starts now for BHS!
By: Ben Elliott

My friends, it’s been a while since we’ve last talked! I attribute this to biting off more than I could chew in the summer with university related activities, and some RCBL baseball of course!! 

When we last left off, we were headed into a title defense season for our Lady Gobblers softball team, and the hopes of another playoff berth for our baseball Gobblers. The Lady Gobblers did not achieve back to back titles however, I by no means consider their season a failure. As we’ve discussed in the past, winning is difficult at any level, regardless of circumstance. The team made another deep VHSL state playoff run, including the program’s second consecutive appearance in the Class 3 State Championship game, which is a massive accomplishment. Over the last four years, a whole class of student athletes made it to the state playoffs, including a title! I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be a while before we see that happen again at any school here in the Valley. 

My good personal friend (and noted Steelers fan, yuck) George Laase, and our beloved Broadway baseball Gobblers were seeking to make the playoffs for their fourth consecutive year, which they achieved. I’m sure anyone involved would tell you that the road to get back to the playoffs wasn’t easy by any means, yet they found themselves playing summer baseball for a fourth consecutive season, which is also a major accomplishment. I am no mathematician, but I cannot remember the last time either team missed the playoffs, which is surreal to type out into writing. The baseball team won a road playoff game in Lynchburg  against a very good Brookville Bees team, a benchmark of another successful season in my book!!

The calendar has now turned over, which can only mean one thing!! Friend of the blog uncle Joe Glick and I are in the midst of Premier League soccer… Well yes, this is true; however, this isn’t a Merseyside football blog. This is a Broadway High School sports blog as you all well know, which can only mean one thing! It’s time for our 2026 Fall BHS sports season preview!

Starting with our Lady Gobblers Volleyball Team! 

Last season marked a new journey for the program, with friend of the blog Sydney Coffman taking over for friend of the blog Colton Frey. Their 2025 season followed a trend we are grateful for here at Behind the Gobbler Call- another single digit loss season and a deep playoff run!! How lucky are we to have every program we cover make deep playoff runs! Definitely makes writing this much more enjoyable, as I’m sure it is to read! 
The team will begin the 2026 season with many new faces, replacing seniors who have given great production to the program over their careers. You know from me in years past, that there’s nothing I love more than the next player up. It’s the heart of high school sports, which makes this a great life experience (especially when you’re an adult like me). The idea that you put your time in, only to have it end in brutal fashion (unless you’re the senior softball class of 2025) and to see the sun rise again, bringing in a new crop of players, ready to make their own unique impact. 

Through the first game I’ve had the honor to witness, the energy has been super super high, and the mood loose, not too nervous by any means, which is where you want to be in order to have sustained success. This makes me beyond excited for what is to come this season for the volleyball program. Normally I’d do a schedule run down however, unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you view it, we have the same list of opponents as we did last season! 

I expect the program to retain their playoff pace that they’ve run with for many years now, which will make for wonderful times at BHS!

The new changes in the world of BHS Football make me feel old. Out of a roster of roughly 40 kids, only a small handful are still playing from when I coached, which as I discussed above, isn’t a bad thing whatsoever. However, players graduating isn’t the only inevitable aspect of this process, staff changes remain an ever present, natural change in the life cycle of any given program at the high school level. Head coach Danny Grogg, who graciously coached me in high school and hired me right out of it, decided it was best for him and his family to step down as the program’s leader. It feels like a weird feeling to see a staff in which you knew every name on, turn over, however, I also see this as a great positive in the same way that I view the new group of players every year. With new staff come new ideas, and a continuation of what we love about high school sports, a continued proud representation of our town and all the great things about it. 

Although I haven’t yet got the pleasure of meeting new head coach Jesse Lohr, I am overjoyed to have him and have heard nothing but great things about him. When I saw his staff on the field for the first scrimmage of the year, I saw a ton of younger faces, which made me unexplainably excited. I love seeing the next generation (my generation) take the mantle and run off with it. One of the greatest men I’ve ever coached with, William Herndon, told us back in 2022 that there is no greater join than seeing folks my age get into coaching. It signals that the spirit of Broadway football, forged by wonderful people for decades upon decades, is here to stay. I am grateful to say that I was a part of it for some time. 
Looking forward to the present day and the very near future, I am looking forward to seeing what this new look Broadway Gobblers football team has to offer. The first scrimmage, although far too short, was electric. The schedule, like volleyball, remains the same as last year, swapping locations. 

With that being said, I will continue to have high expectations for our football Gobblers. A standard has been set in the 21st century that I expect to continue for years to come. We’ve got a great mix of experienced players and new faces, which will be a joy to watch how things unfold on the gridiron this season. 
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It’s been my pleasure to catch up with you all again, as always, thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing all of you at various BHS sporting events this season! Go Gobblers!!!