The goal remains the same, year in, year out, no matter who is in charge.

Reverse the long misfortune of Butler High School football.

The Golden Tornado will begin their third season under Rob Densmore — Butler’s eighth head coach in 23 years — when they host Penn Hills this Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.

Bernardi won 179 games in his 26 years as Butler coach. The eight coaches in the past 23 years have combined to win 67.

This is not to suggest — even for a second — that coaches are the reason Butler football has been in this elongated tailspin. Theories and reasons for the consistent losing records have been spun over and over again.

What we need to do is deal in the present. And that’s looking promising.

Butler football is on the same page in terms of what offenses and defenses are being run from the Midget program all the way up to high school varsity.

Since the Butler Area Midget Football League has joined a travel circuit, youth football in Butler has been improving at a steady rate.

Densmore has an effective staff of dedicated people, many of whom have succeeded in football as players themselves. Offensive line coach Bill McElroy played at West Virginia. Offensive coordinator Eric Christy was a solid high school quarterback who went on to Clarion University. Both are Butler graduates.

Assistant coach Bill Elliott was a standout linebacker at Knoch who had a good career at Slippery Rock University. Karns City grad Jeff Wagner played on one of the best teams in Thiel history.

These guys and other coaches on the staff comprise an enthusiastic bunch who know how to teach the game. And this year’s roster has some experience and more depth than it’s had in recent years.

These are all positives.

The negatives, of course, are a lack of numbers for a school of Butler’s size, fighting that losing tradition of the past 20 years and trying to succeed in a section that includes Central Catholic, Pine-Richland, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Penn Hills ... you get the picture.

But here is what every senior class has in Butler football — the opportunity to be the class.

One of these years, a senior class is going to be responsible for Butler football turning the corner.

It may come in the form of winning a handful of games, getting to the WPIAL playoffs, pulling off an upset over one of the Class 6A powers, etc.

It could be something similar to the 2012 senior class, which won four games, reached the playoffs and surprised Pine-Richland that year. Only that success didn’t stick.

Next time, maybe it will.

Is this the class? Stay tuned.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle