BOURBON - A year removed from finishing 7-4, the team’s first winning mark since the 2018 squad posted a 9-4 record, the Triton Trojan football team is looking to build off of that success under new leadership.
After spending the last four seasons as Triton’s defensive coordinator, Zach Whittaker now holds the duties of the head coach. He replaces Rodney Younis, who stepped down after 15 years at the helm to focus on his new role as the school’s athletic director.
Just months after Whittaker was announced as the school’s new head man in November, star running back Anthony Schuh, who already held many Triton rushing records going into his senior year, announced he would not be returning to school for his senior year to pursue different goals. Whittaker admitted the loss of Schuh has led to an adjustment period for his team, but he thinks his guys have responded well.
“We’re obviously going to miss him, we love him. But he’s pursuing something greater than all of us,” Whittaker said. “It’s tough not having him here but we wish him the best.”
Senior quarterback Cole Shively echoed his head coach’s sentiment.
“He’s my best friend and I’m going to miss him a lot, but at the end of the day unfortunately he isn’t here right now so we need to make the best out of who is here and what we have,” Shively said.
What the Trojans do have is experience in the trenches. Of the team’s nine seniors, seven are primarily defensive or offensive linemen. Some players play both positions, while others switch to linebacker on defense after blocking for the offense. This senior class is one that holds a special place in Whittaker’s heart.
“This is one of my favorite classes I’ve ever been around,” Whittaker said. “They were eighth graders when I started and now to see them as seniors and to see how they’ve grown not just as players but as young men has truly been a privilege for me.”
One of those seniors is defensive lineman Tucker Worsham, who is excited about the strides the program took last year and believes it was just the beginning of a sustained run of success.
“I think that every player on this team has the mindset of a leader. Not just the upperclassmen but the younger guys too,” Worsham said. “I try to teach the young guys and I think they know that the more work you put in the better off you’re going to be. That’s the first key to building a winning culture and I think it’s going to take this team really far.”
The Trojan offense is littered with skill position players that make up for a lack of experience with an excess of athleticism. The Trojans’ leading receiver last year, junior Dante Workman, has an impressive vertical leap that will help mightily with his duties, and his speed should play well if he continues to handle punt and kick returns. Whittaker mentioned the backfield combination of sophomore Vinnie Prater and junior Wayne Reichert as two names the Trojan faithful will have to keep their eyes on this year. Junior tight end Isaac Quintana will look to make a name for himself at the position this year.
Of course, the offense will still run primarily through Shively. One of the top multi-sport athletes in the county, Shively played very well as a junior, throwing for 574 yards and seven touchdowns while running for 813 more and totalling 16 TDs on the ground. Both the quarterback and his head coach believe that the senior is going to have another big year.
“I’m focused on getting myself ready, getting my teammates ready. We have a coach that loves us and he’s ready to set us loose. We want to win some games and we believe we are more than capable of doing so,” Shively said.
“When you have a player like Cole, obviously you want to get him the ball and let him be the workhorse and the leader that he is as much as possible,” Whittaker said. “I feel like he’s got a great supporting cast around him of kids that have shown they can step up during camp.”
Younger players stepping up early in preseason workouts is the earliest indication of what Whittaker is looking for most out of his players: effort.
“You can ask any player here. What we care about most is effort and attitude. We want every guy on this team to be able to look in the mirror after practice or a game and tell himself that he gave it 100%,” the head coach said. “As far as wins and execution, it’ll come, but it starts with the effort that we can control.”
Triton begins its regular season Friday night at home against South Central.