TAMA – There’s no hiding the fact the Trojans are going to be a young football team this year. And in his first year as the head coach, Nate Doran couldn’t be more excited.

After graduating from South Tama County, Doran has spent more than 12 years in the system that is Trojan football. And while a senior class of 19 football players all but decimated any returning players, Doran isn’t pressing the panic button before the season begins.

“We’re young. We’ve got four returners from last year, that’s it,” Doran said. “But we’ve got a big junior class. Six seniors total, big, big junior class, OK sophomore class and very little freshman class. So, we’re kind of low on numbers, but we’ve got a lot more out than we thought.

“We’re young, we’re green, but I’m confident. We’re fast. We’ve got a lot of athletes, some kids we can build upon.”

A critical returner this year for the Trojans, who are coming off an 11-1 season, is quarterback Clayton Rosenberger. The senior is back for his final season with the Trojans, ready to direct the offense once again.

Rosenberger was 45-for-79 with 794 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Doran said Rosenberger has shown to be the leader the Trojans both need and want before the season has even began.

“It’s huge, especially in the summer time this year,” Doran said. “He knew what he wanted, so he’s been a leader in the summer time. He’s bringing in guys in the lifting in the weight room; he was going and picking people up. He’s a vocal leader out here. He knows what he needs to do, and has been on a winning team the last two years in a row.”

Kolbie Clark will also be a senior this season. The state-qualifying sprinter in track and field will is the top returning rusher, having gone for 192 yards on 21 carries for three touchdowns. Seniors Jerry Lowe, Peyton Rutledge and Ruben Garcia, all rushers ranked ahead of Clark in 2015, are all graduated.

Isaac Judge will be sought as a pivotal player on defense. The Trojans lost Rutledge, who led the team in tackles the year before. Judge was eighth on the team with 44 total tackles, four for a loss.

“Defensively, that’s where we lost [a lot of players],” Doran said. “Isaac Judge is the only sophomore guy who played last year. And he only played defense and special teams.”

STC does move back up to Class 3A competition this season, the first time since 2013. Playing up a class can provide a certain challenge for the eighth-smallest 3A school in the state, but that isn’t going to put a kink in any of Doran’s plans

“We’re fine with it. It is what it is; it’s football,” Doran said. “Sometimes it’s tough. We’re a 3A school, but have the participation of a 2A. That’s the toughest part. But a lot of other schools around our district have cancelled JV schedules already. So, we’re not looking to cancel a full JV schedule, but we aren’t going to be able to play as many as we’d like to, because we have to use everybody.”

The JV STC team went undefeated in 2015, showing promise as a majority of those players have now made their way onto the varsity roster. But a lot can change between the transition from playing Friday afternoon to Friday night lights.

“The pace is going to be different. Varsity is always going to be a quicker pace,” Doran said. “But you’ve got guys who know what it takes. A lot of them have put in the time and effort this summer. There are a solid eight or nine guys who lived in the weight room this year.”

The Trojans will seek to utilize speed and aggressiveness on both offense and defense to make a stand and take strides at making it another winning season in Tama.

“We’re going to be quick,” Doran said. “We’ve got some kids who are going to come out and hit you. Once you play South Tama, you’re going to know it at the end of the game.”