Young Trojans squad sorting things out as start of 2013 season nears

Atlantic hosts inter-squad scrimmage Friday, opens up at Clarinda next week

By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / Aug. 21, 2013

ATLANTIC – School is back in session, and that means gridiron football is not far behind.

Atlantic opened fall practice last week, and is working towards its inter-squad scrimmage Friday night at the Trojan Bowl. The black-and-gold begin the regular season the following week (Aug. 30) at Clarinda to kick off the 2013 season.

Second-year head coach Nick Ross is encouraged by the effort in practice as the team looks to build upon its 5-4 record from a year ago.

“We’ve got a good group of kids who are working hard and embracing the challenges we are throwing at them,” he said this week. “It’s exciting to see them work hard, and it’s exciting to see the improvement. We are young, so there is a lot of room for improvement, but we are improving, and that is encouraging.”

One challenge facing the Trojans this fall is a large amount of turnover due to graduation from a senior-dominated squad last year.

Five starters return, leaving a chunk of starting spots open for the taking.

With a wide-open roster comes the chance for many new and younger players to carve out their roles on the varsity squad.

“There is a ton of opportunity,” Ross says. “As a coach, part of that makes me a little nervous because in some spots we haven’t had guys step up yet and grasp those positions. But at the at the same time, a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve got guys working hard and competing against each other, and it’s just not clear who the best is yet.”

Perhaps the most experienced unit for the Trojans is its offensive line, where it will build around veterans Tyler Christianson, Skylar Svoboda and Jez Phippen, all of whom have seen significant action in the past.

Many of the other positions are still up for grabs, and leading up to opening night at Clarinda, Ross expects some players to separate themselves from the pack and elevate themselves into a starting role.

“I want to see some of these guys really step up and take ownership at some of these positions,” coach Ross says. “The way to do that is to practice hard the rest of this week, and the competition will go into next week, and maybe even into the season to be honest.”

But before the Trojans face live bullets at Clarinda, the program hosts its annual inter-squad scrimmage Friday night at the Trojan Bowl. Action begins at 6:45 p.m. with the freshman team taking the field first, followed by the varsity.

The public is encouraged to attend and catch a glimpse of the 2013 team.

“I really feel we’ve got a good group of kids who are working hard, and we should put a product on the field that is going to make the community proud,” coach Ross says.

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