A year ago, they were a win away from getting to the state championship.

Central High School football coach Casey Knoble joined La Crosse Talk to preview this season, as they have a new quarterback in sophomore Tommy Check at the helm, behind a lot of returners on the line, plus Maxim Roberts at running back.

Roberts returns after rushing for 864 yards and eight touchdowns. Check has to replace his brother on offense, who had 51 total touchdowns.

Logan's season starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Ellsworth. Every Rangers game will be stream on WKTY — search the WKTY channel on Roku or on Apple TV.

The Rangers were 10-3 last year and finished in a five-way tie for the Mississippi Valley Conference title.

They lost in the state semifinals 41-21 to Green Bay Notre Dame, which had a Notre Dame recruit on it — the son of former Chicago Bears and Irish defensive tackle, Jim Flanagan (something we joked about a bit).

We also talked a little bit about bylaw changes with the WIAA, allowing unlimited contact with players all summer and how Logan’s coaching staffs handle that as one unit.