BOURBON - The 2007 season offered a lot of excitement for the Triton Trojans, but in 2008, the team will be without a few intricate pieces.
After getting through last year's regular season with 3-6 record, the Trojans took off by outscoring their three sectional opponents 140-34 en route to the school's first sectional championship.A week later, Triton's season came to an end with a 28-14 regional loss at Churubusco, but by that point, strides had already been made within the program.
"The returning players from last season understand how long it took to get to that point," said Triton coach Rodney Younis, whose Trojans open the season Friday at Caston. "They're hungry to take it further."
Gone from last season's squad are three-quarters in the backfield, including quarterback Troy McIntyre, along with running backs Chad Ulmer and Reggie Davis. However, Younis does return his second-leading rusher Adam Creighbaum, who'll actually be switching positions.
"Adam Creighbaum's going to be moving to quarterback," Younis said of the junior who rushed for 10.4 yards per carry a year ago. "He's doing a real good job with it. He runs the offense well."
While Creighbaum moves from running back to quarterback, Triton's new backs will be Cale Kennedy at fullback, while Miles Reichard and Ethan Rutherford will handle wing back duties. Blake Hoffer and Spencer Lamaster will also see time in the backfield.
Triton's offense will undoubtedly center around the running game, but when Creighbaum does throw the ball, it will likely be in the vicinity of senior tight end Zac Moriarty.
"He led us in receiving (yards) last year," Younis said of Moriarty, who had 13 catches for 167 yards last year. "It's nice to have him back."
Along with the tight end, Creighbaum, who actually led Triton in number of receptions a year ago, will also look for wide receivers Cody Carpenter, Dustin Kreft and Zeth Hoffer for yardage.
If Creighbaum is to get anything done this year, he's going to need his offensive line to play well. Making that prospect a little more daunting, is the fact Triton is looking to replace four linemen.
"The biggest loss from last year is at offensive line," Younis said of his squad, which lost Colt Condon, Jeremy Dawson, Tyler Borsa and Zac Cunningham.
Joining returnee Robby Emkow on the line will be Zack Clark, Jeff Sneed, Derrick Elliott, Taylor Sahlhoff and Brandon Haines.
"Those six can rotate in," Younis said.
On defense, Younis returns Blake Hoffer at defensive tackle in Triton's 3-4 defense.
"He's back as an all-conference player," Younis said of his leading returning tackler, who had 65 last year, 14 of which were for a loss. "It's extremely good to be named all-conference in the Northern State Conference as a junior."
Joining Hoffer on the line will be Emkow and Sahlhoff, while Moriarty, Spencer Lamaster, Kennedy and Reichard attempt to fill in holes left by Ulmer and Indiana North-South All-Star Clint Woodward at linebacker.
"The guys we have are strong and have speed," Younis said.
Serving as the safety net for the Trojans will be Kreft and Coty Haynes at safety, with Justin Farmwald and Seth Hoffer at the corners.
Along with running the offense, Creighbaum may also find himself on the field for special teams. With the graduation of Borsa, Creighbaum may become the team's new kicker, unless German foreign exchange student Sebastian Muellar takes the spot.
"Creighbaum was our punter last year, and he has a pretty strong leg," Younis said.
Younis is confident with the team he's going to put out on the field, but for any small school, an injury could throw a real kink in the machine.
"The key for us is to stay healthy," the seventh-year coach said. "If any of our starters go down, we get young. It's crucial for us to stay healthy."
Even if healthy, Triton will still have some rough sledding through the NSC
"We're definitely going to have our work cut out for us," Younis said. "John Glenn has a lot of talent coming back, and they've also jumped up a class. Then you have New Prairie and Jimtown. They're the kings until someone knocks them off."
Also in the NSC, Triton will host a Bremen team which lost to the Trojans 26-21 a year ago. The win over Bremen was Triton's first since 1974. Prior to last year's victory, Triton had lost 31-straight to their county rival.
"Bremen's really improved," Younis said. "I know they'll be chomping at the bit for us."
Following a sectional championship season, there's sure to be plenty of teams chomping at the bit to play Triton, but for this year's team, last year's scores need to be forgotten, but the work put in to get those scores can not.
"We know last year was last year, and this is an all new season," Younis said.
