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LEROY —  There’s a lot more noise at the practice field in LeRoy than in recent years, and there are also a lot more smiles.

LeRoy-Ostrander and Lyle-Pacelli, who are SEC rivals, have combined football programs this year and coach Trevor Carrier couldn’t be happier. Carrier has been on the L-O coaching staff for 12 years and he is now the first ever L-O/L-P head coach.

“It has been awesome. I have nothing but positive things to say. What a group of kids to come over,” Carrier said. “They’re positive, polite and they’re learning a lot. We did a lot over the summer and now you can’t tell the difference between Lyle-Pacelli and LeRoy-Ostrander kids. We have the best coaching staff in the state and these coaches have worked hard (to make this work).”

Senior Dylan Christianson, who attends Lyle High School, was facing the prospect of playing JV football for the second straight year if schools hadn’t combined programs. Now he’s a captain on a varsity team that has high numbers and high expectations.

“It’s not two teams anymore, it’s just one team and we’re here to play football,” Christianson said. “This is a real gift here. This is a blessing and an opportunity that we’re not going to waste.”

All of the Cardinals’ regular season games will be played in LeRoy this fall, with Lyle set to host one home game in 2025. The team also changed its helmets this year where it has a decal of L-O on one side, and L-P on the other side.

L-O senior Talan Lewison said that the co-op has gone great so far as he’s embraced his new teammates.

“It’s been really fun and interesting to get to know all of these guys and see how competitive everyone is,” he said.

In his time coaching at L-O, Carrier has seen the Cardinals go a season without varsity football and he’s also led the team to a state championship. One thing L-O has rarely had is a JV team, but that will change as the L-O/L-P has 36 players total. By comparison, the Cardinals had just 17 players when it won the Class Nine man title in 2021.

“We have a JV team and a whole junior high team,” Carrier said. “We’re excited to see all of these teams going. We had kids before who didn’t get to play much on varsity, but now they’re going to get that chance. It’s a blessing, especially when you know where we came from.”

Senior Carter Sweeney said having those younger teams will make a big difference for the future of the L-O/L-P co-op.

“It helps the younger kids and it gives us depth we haven’t had,” he said. “We haven’t had a JV in a long time and they’ll get more playing time now.”

Besides bringing in the L-P athletes, the Cardinals also have another familiar face on the team. Running back Tyson Stevens moved back into town after playing for Southland the last few years. Stevens had lived in LeRoy through his sixth grade year and now he is a Cardinal again.

“It’s been great,” Stevens said. “The first time I put on the pads, I got goosebumps and I was ready to hit somebody.”

L-O/L-P quarterback and Minnesota State University at Mankato commit Cam Hungerholt said he’s pumped to share the ball with Stevens once again.

“Tyson’s been my guy since preschool. We went to daycare together and it’s great to have him back,” Hungerholt said. “It’s going to be scary with him in the backfield.”

Hungerholt said that having more players means more competitions for spots, which will make the team better in the long run. He also said that football is more than a sport in LeRoy and the L-P students are quickly picking up on that notion.

“Everyone has come together to create a culture. Coach Carrier does a good job of bringing us all together,” Hungerholt said. “He talks about us being a family a lot and football is not just a sport, it becomes a family bond.”

L-O/L-P will open its season at Kingsland on Aug. 30.