Triton Football Team Has High Expectations
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BOURBON - The Triton Trojans are coming off of three straight 4-7 seasons.
Triton has never really been known as a football powerhouse.
So why should the Trojans be optimistic about this year?
Triton is returning most of its offensive production from last year, coach Rodney Younis has the biggest roster in his tenure at Triton and the Trojans are also the best conditioned team in Younis' tenure.
The Trojans plan to change up their offense a little bit and open it up more to the pass.
Wide receivers Trent Furnivall and Jake Everett provide some nice options as Furnivall is a speedster who caught 37 passes for 548 yards while Everett is 6-foot-6 and coming off of his first year of football.
Blake Espich, Reggie Davis and A.J. Fleagle will also see extended time in Younis' spread wing-T offense.
The Trojans return much of a beefy offensive line.
Lee Bragg anchors the offensive line at center and will be flanked by fellow senior Harold Lemler at one guard and 6-3, 280-pound junior Colt Condon at the other. Junior Zac Fugitt and Jason Price are the tackles.
Chad Ulmer and Nathan Hooley will share duties at halfback while Lucas Lindsay will be the primary fullback.
Andrew Hochstetler will start the season as the Trojans' quarterback while Troy McIntyre sits out the first two regular season games due to disciplinary reasons. Younis was unable to comment on McIntyre's situation.
Last year, McIntyre completed 51 percent of his passes and racked up 1,057 yards with 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Even bigger numbers are expected once he returns.
"We will have to adjust our offense a little bit," said Younis of starting Hochstetler instead of McIntyre. "But we have faith in Andrew. We took him to 7-on-7's this year and he got a lot of throws in."
Younis returns 10 players who logged significant time on defense last season.
Davis and Furnivall will serve as the primary cornerbacks while Espich will serve as a safety.
Ulmer, Hooley and Clint and Matt Woodward will rotate at linebacker.
Defensive end Tim Borsa missed Triton's scrimmage against Manchester but will be ready for the season.
Joe LaChance and Jason Price also will see time at defensive end.
While expectations are high for Triton and with a lot of experience returning for the Trojans, Younis knows this year will be a dogfight in the Northern State Conference.
"This is going to be the best year top to bottom in the NSC," said Younis. "You always have to look at Jimtown and New Prairie as the top teams. John Glenn has improved immensely. Culver will be better with Andy Thomas coming over. Their numbers have improved."
Thomas will be the head football coach along with being the athletic director for the Cavaliers. Thomas is a former teacher and assistant at Warsaw.
"Our team is the best team I've seen here at Triton," said Younis. "And we may only win three or four games. I do expect us to get over that .500 mark though."
The Trojans haven't finished the season at .500 since 1997 and haven't had a winning season since 1979.
"We have no control over what happened in the past," said Younis. "The kids are aware of how long its been but we don't worry about that."
One thing that has helped Younis build a better team is bigger numbers and kids in much better shape.
The Trojan rosters hosts 52 names with many in the junior class. Younis and his growing legion of players spent the summer getting in the best football shape they could.
"We really focused on summer workouts," said Younis. "We lifted and ran and we came into two-a-days in shape," said Younis. "That's really going to help us."
On the special teams side, things are a little up in the air for the Trojans.
Triton ended last year with McIntyre as its punter and Henry Zelaya as it's kicker.
With McIntyre out, Younis at the time of this interview wasn't 100 percent sure who his punter would be.
Borsa will start the season as the Trojans' kicker.
Zelaya hasn't logged much practice time over the summer due to travel soccer leagues and will need to be eased in before he can kick again.
Triton opened the season with three straight wins over Caston, Northfield and Culver before losing six straight during their conference schedule.
The Trojans regrouped with a 21-13 win over Northfield in the opening round of the 1A No. 34 sectional.
Triton then lost to Southern Wells to end their season by the count of 28-14.
While a conference crown may be out of the question because of Jimtown and New Prairie's size and utter football dominance, a sectional crown is a reachable goal.
Adams Central won the sectional last year and made a deep playoff run before falling to Sheridan in the semistate. The Jets did lose a lot from last year's team but long-time head coach Rick Minnich always fields a quality team.
Southern Wells also is a yearly force in Class 1A but doesn't return the talent Triton does.
The wildcard team from Triton's sectional may be Indianapolis Lutheran. Lutheran is playing its first year at the varsity level but went 7-1 against junior varsity competition last year and returns all its starters on offense and defense.
Triton opens the season Friday at Caston. The kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
2006 Schedule (Home games in caps)
Aug. 18 at Caston
Aug. 25 at Northfield
Sept. 1 CULVER
Sept. 8 BREMEN
Sept. 15 at Glenn
Sept. 22 NEW PRAIRIE
Sept. 29 at LaVille
Oct. 6 KNOX
Oct. 13 at Jimtown
No. Name Grade Pos.
2 A.J. Fleagle 11 WR/CB
3 Adam Creighbaum 9 QB/S
5 Adam Ulmer 12 HB/LB
7 Derek Sellers 9 QB/S
8 Reggie Davis 11 WR/CB
10 Zeth Hoffer 9 WR/LB
11 Troy McIntyre 11 QB/CB
12 Trent Furnivall 12 WR/CB
18 Andrew Hochstetller 11 QB/S
20 Dustin Kreft 10 WR/CB
21 Ethan Rutherford 9 HB/LB
22 Dylan Senff 9 WR/CB
23 David Poole 12 HB/CB
25 Nathan Hooley 12 HB/LB
28 Taylor Metheny 9 FB/LB
31 Blake Hoffer 10 HB/LB
32 Spencer LaMaster 10 WR/LB
33 Chad Ulmer 11 HB/LB
34 Lucas Lindsey 12 FB/DE
39 Miles Reichard 10 HB/DE
40 Derek Tolson 9 FB/LB
41 Cale Kennedy 10 FB/LB
42 Joe LaChance 12 WR/DE
46 D.J. Lindsey 9 TE/LB
50 Harold Lemler 12 OL/DL
51 Zack Clark 10 OL/DL
52 Matt Heath 9 OL/DL
53 Kevin Pfeiffer 9 OL/LB
54 Clint Woodward 11 OL/LB
55 Michael Blanton 9 OL/DL
56 Robby Emkow 10 OL/DE
58 Zac Cunningham 11 OL/LB
60 Jason Price 12 OL/DE
62 Taylor Sahllhoff 9 OL/DE
64 Tim Borsa 12 OL/DE
66 Derek Elliott 9 OL/DL
68 Lee Bragg 12 OL/DL
71 Matt Harvey 10 OL/DL
72 Zach Fugitt 11 OL/DL
73 Cody Clemmons 10 OL/DL
75 Brent Houlihan 9 OL/DE
77 Colt Condon 11 OL/DL
80 Zac Moriarty 10 TE/LB
81 Matt Woodward 11 WR/LB
82 Justin Farmwald 10 WR/CB
84 Tommy Devros 10 TE/DE
85 Tyler Borsa 11 TE/LB
87 Henry Zelaya 11 K
89 Jake Everett 11 WR/CB
91 Bart Christian 11 P [[In-content Ad]]
BOURBON - The Triton Trojans are coming off of three straight 4-7 seasons.
Triton has never really been known as a football powerhouse.
So why should the Trojans be optimistic about this year?
Triton is returning most of its offensive production from last year, coach Rodney Younis has the biggest roster in his tenure at Triton and the Trojans are also the best conditioned team in Younis' tenure.
The Trojans plan to change up their offense a little bit and open it up more to the pass.
Wide receivers Trent Furnivall and Jake Everett provide some nice options as Furnivall is a speedster who caught 37 passes for 548 yards while Everett is 6-foot-6 and coming off of his first year of football.
Blake Espich, Reggie Davis and A.J. Fleagle will also see extended time in Younis' spread wing-T offense.
The Trojans return much of a beefy offensive line.
Lee Bragg anchors the offensive line at center and will be flanked by fellow senior Harold Lemler at one guard and 6-3, 280-pound junior Colt Condon at the other. Junior Zac Fugitt and Jason Price are the tackles.
Chad Ulmer and Nathan Hooley will share duties at halfback while Lucas Lindsay will be the primary fullback.
Andrew Hochstetler will start the season as the Trojans' quarterback while Troy McIntyre sits out the first two regular season games due to disciplinary reasons. Younis was unable to comment on McIntyre's situation.
Last year, McIntyre completed 51 percent of his passes and racked up 1,057 yards with 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Even bigger numbers are expected once he returns.
"We will have to adjust our offense a little bit," said Younis of starting Hochstetler instead of McIntyre. "But we have faith in Andrew. We took him to 7-on-7's this year and he got a lot of throws in."
Younis returns 10 players who logged significant time on defense last season.
Davis and Furnivall will serve as the primary cornerbacks while Espich will serve as a safety.
Ulmer, Hooley and Clint and Matt Woodward will rotate at linebacker.
Defensive end Tim Borsa missed Triton's scrimmage against Manchester but will be ready for the season.
Joe LaChance and Jason Price also will see time at defensive end.
While expectations are high for Triton and with a lot of experience returning for the Trojans, Younis knows this year will be a dogfight in the Northern State Conference.
"This is going to be the best year top to bottom in the NSC," said Younis. "You always have to look at Jimtown and New Prairie as the top teams. John Glenn has improved immensely. Culver will be better with Andy Thomas coming over. Their numbers have improved."
Thomas will be the head football coach along with being the athletic director for the Cavaliers. Thomas is a former teacher and assistant at Warsaw.
"Our team is the best team I've seen here at Triton," said Younis. "And we may only win three or four games. I do expect us to get over that .500 mark though."
The Trojans haven't finished the season at .500 since 1997 and haven't had a winning season since 1979.
"We have no control over what happened in the past," said Younis. "The kids are aware of how long its been but we don't worry about that."
One thing that has helped Younis build a better team is bigger numbers and kids in much better shape.
The Trojan rosters hosts 52 names with many in the junior class. Younis and his growing legion of players spent the summer getting in the best football shape they could.
"We really focused on summer workouts," said Younis. "We lifted and ran and we came into two-a-days in shape," said Younis. "That's really going to help us."
On the special teams side, things are a little up in the air for the Trojans.
Triton ended last year with McIntyre as its punter and Henry Zelaya as it's kicker.
With McIntyre out, Younis at the time of this interview wasn't 100 percent sure who his punter would be.
Borsa will start the season as the Trojans' kicker.
Zelaya hasn't logged much practice time over the summer due to travel soccer leagues and will need to be eased in before he can kick again.
Triton opened the season with three straight wins over Caston, Northfield and Culver before losing six straight during their conference schedule.
The Trojans regrouped with a 21-13 win over Northfield in the opening round of the 1A No. 34 sectional.
Triton then lost to Southern Wells to end their season by the count of 28-14.
While a conference crown may be out of the question because of Jimtown and New Prairie's size and utter football dominance, a sectional crown is a reachable goal.
Adams Central won the sectional last year and made a deep playoff run before falling to Sheridan in the semistate. The Jets did lose a lot from last year's team but long-time head coach Rick Minnich always fields a quality team.
Southern Wells also is a yearly force in Class 1A but doesn't return the talent Triton does.
The wildcard team from Triton's sectional may be Indianapolis Lutheran. Lutheran is playing its first year at the varsity level but went 7-1 against junior varsity competition last year and returns all its starters on offense and defense.
Triton opens the season Friday at Caston. The kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
2006 Schedule (Home games in caps)
Aug. 18 at Caston
Aug. 25 at Northfield
Sept. 1 CULVER
Sept. 8 BREMEN
Sept. 15 at Glenn
Sept. 22 NEW PRAIRIE
Sept. 29 at LaVille
Oct. 6 KNOX
Oct. 13 at Jimtown
No. Name Grade Pos.
2 A.J. Fleagle 11 WR/CB
3 Adam Creighbaum 9 QB/S
5 Adam Ulmer 12 HB/LB
7 Derek Sellers 9 QB/S
8 Reggie Davis 11 WR/CB
10 Zeth Hoffer 9 WR/LB
11 Troy McIntyre 11 QB/CB
12 Trent Furnivall 12 WR/CB
18 Andrew Hochstetller 11 QB/S
20 Dustin Kreft 10 WR/CB
21 Ethan Rutherford 9 HB/LB
22 Dylan Senff 9 WR/CB
23 David Poole 12 HB/CB
25 Nathan Hooley 12 HB/LB
28 Taylor Metheny 9 FB/LB
31 Blake Hoffer 10 HB/LB
32 Spencer LaMaster 10 WR/LB
33 Chad Ulmer 11 HB/LB
34 Lucas Lindsey 12 FB/DE
39 Miles Reichard 10 HB/DE
40 Derek Tolson 9 FB/LB
41 Cale Kennedy 10 FB/LB
42 Joe LaChance 12 WR/DE
46 D.J. Lindsey 9 TE/LB
50 Harold Lemler 12 OL/DL
51 Zack Clark 10 OL/DL
52 Matt Heath 9 OL/DL
53 Kevin Pfeiffer 9 OL/LB
54 Clint Woodward 11 OL/LB
55 Michael Blanton 9 OL/DL
56 Robby Emkow 10 OL/DE
58 Zac Cunningham 11 OL/LB
60 Jason Price 12 OL/DE
62 Taylor Sahllhoff 9 OL/DE
64 Tim Borsa 12 OL/DE
66 Derek Elliott 9 OL/DL
68 Lee Bragg 12 OL/DL
71 Matt Harvey 10 OL/DL
72 Zach Fugitt 11 OL/DL
73 Cody Clemmons 10 OL/DL
75 Brent Houlihan 9 OL/DE
77 Colt Condon 11 OL/DL
80 Zac Moriarty 10 TE/LB
81 Matt Woodward 11 WR/LB
82 Justin Farmwald 10 WR/CB
84 Tommy Devros 10 TE/DE
85 Tyler Borsa 11 TE/LB
87 Henry Zelaya 11 K
89 Jake Everett 11 WR/CB
91 Bart Christian 11 P [[In-content Ad]]