Even the football players at Cretin-Derham Hall acknowledge it these days.

The Raiders are in a drought.

Cretin-Derham Hall was a state tournament qualifier 20 times from 1990 to 2011, missing out only in 2006, and twice won state titles during that span, in 1999 and 2009. But the glory years appear to be slipping away. The Raiders have missed the state tournament in each of the past four seasons.

Yet Thursday night’s season opener at Lakeville South marks a new era, of sorts, as former Vikings quarterback Brooks Bollinger takes the reins as head coach after spending last season working specifically with the Raiders’ quarterbacks.

His impact already has been felt.

Senior center Nick Neumann said practices have a faster tempo, intensity is higher, kids are on time, and the team has more discipline. “I think the team is looking better as a whole,” he said.

That’s no shot against former Cretin-Derham Hall coach Mike Scanlan, senior linebacker James Jackson said, but Bollinger has his own way of doing things.

“He attacks things differently,” Jackson said. “Just more intense, more upbeat, kind of more game-reality-type things. And just more attention to detail, as well.”

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MSHSL meeting to determine fate of fall football, volleyball set for Monday “It seems like he wants to be here … he wants to win, he does really want to have a winning team,” Neumann added.

Is there another choice at Cretin-Derham Hall, where the pressure to return the school to football prominence amplifies with each non-phenomenal season?

“There certainly has been a long history of winning here, and that’s something that’s expected,” Bollinger said. “I don’t think we really think about it. Obviously, we want to go out and win football games, but we’ve tried to narrow our focus down to, ‘Hey, let’s raise the bar every day.’ ”

That mantra started in February, when Bollinger first got the job.

The big picture, which can be a daunting one filled with expectations, was set aside. Instead, players focused on improving each time they stepped up to the squat rack for a new set. And while it’s a great thing to advance players toward college football and potentially the NFL — which Cretin-Derham Hall has done plenty of in the past — sacrificing for the greater good is a bigger goal, Bollinger said.

“He’s just trying to help us have fun with football,” Neumann said. “And it’s more than just a game, I guess. It’s more of a lifestyle, too.”

Expectations might be higher for Bollinger than for his players this season. In his only other season as a high school head coach, he led Hill-Murray to the state tournament for just the third time in school history before leaving to be quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

That’s the type of performance that gets you labeled as a “coaching messiah.”

Neumann and Jackson were both asked where they thought the Raiders had an edge this season. Jackson mentioned athleticism. Neumann said Cretin-Derham Hall has a “winning mind-set.”

The only answer both players gave? Coaching.

Combine that with Cretin-Derham Hall’s talent and pedigree, and Jackson said this group “definitely” can get the Raiders back to state and “end this drought.”

Bollinger still isn’t sure how good this group can be. He figured that coaches who have spent 25 years in the same program might have a good idea at this point, but he’s still getting to know his team.

“I think when you get in this time of camp it’s hard to tell,” Bollinger said last week. “Time will tell. … It kind of is up to them as to where we take this thing and how good we can be. You’ve got to earn it.”

He does know one thing for certain.

“We’re talented,” Bollinger said, “so I think there’s some serious potential upside.”

And whether or not Cretin-Derham Hall goes to state this year, Bollinger doesn’t plan on his Raiders’ head coaching stint being a one-and-done deal.

“This is home for me and my family,” Bollinger said. “My kids go to school down the road. … This is kind of the community we’re a part of now, and we don’t plan on leaving. Life has an interesting way of throwing curveballs, but I have every intention of being here as long as they’ll keep me.”