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Trojans try to transition back to proud tradition

STATE CENTER – If there was ever an underdog willing to rise to the task, the 2016 West Marshall football team says it’s the one.

Although an official starting lineup wasn’t all fleshed out by the team scrimmage on Aug. 20 – eight days before the first game of the year – head coach Cody Hackett is confident in the willingness and ability to be coached by his team.

“They’re preaching, ‘Why not us? Why can’t we be the team? Why can’t we be the team to get this thing going in the right direction,'” Hackett said. “They’ve all been working hard. Everyone’s buying in to the team concept.”

West Marshall capped off the 2015 season with a four-game losing streak, being outscored 158-6. However, the Trojans graduated just six seniors, returning a majority of their starters this year.

Cameron Bannister, who played receiver last year, will be a key playmaker for the Trojans this year at quarterback, Hackett said. The sophomore had 102 yards on six receptions as a varsity player last year.

The Trojans also return the No. 2 and No. 3 leading receivers from last year in senior Ross Randall and junior Beau Coberley.

Randall grabbed 151 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown in 2015, while his teammate Coberley caught 14 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown as well.

“We didn’t lose a whole of seniors last year,” Hackett said. “We only have five seniors now, too. But they do a great job of leadership, getting these younger guys to work hard and buy into what we’re trying to do.”

Hackett said he feels comfortable, depth wise at the skills positions, but could be lacking when it comes to the offensive line.

“We feel what we’ve got there will get us going throughout the year,” Hackett said. “We don’t have a lot, but with the guys we have there, we’ll get the job done.”

Sophomore Chase Burr will help lead the Trojan defense this year. Even though he’s an underclassman, Hackett said Burr – who was seventh on the team in tackles last year with 35.5 – is a hard-nosed player who “leads the right way on defense.”

Contributions from players who didn’t play football last year also will add depth, Hackett said, to the defense. That’s where the Trojans will seek to make a good portion of their living this season.

“They’ll get a lot of experience,” Hackett said. “We’ve got quite a few sophomores playing. [They’re] gaining that experience on a Friday night, seeing that it’s a lot faster for them, getting that experience out of them their sophomore, junior years.”

With that comes the obvious disadvantage of playing a rather inexperienced team on Friday nights. Hackett said he and his staff, along with the West Marshall players, acknowledge the lack of varsity playing time the 2016 Trojans will put out on the field at the beginning of the year. However, by the final few district games, Hackett, along with some of the other area coaches, know those growing pains will be put away far and wide.

The direction Hackett and Co. hope to take West Marshall football is leaning more toward an upperclassmen dominant sport. Hackett said “we’re trying to get away from playing any freshmen this year,” hoping to give the more experienced players a majority of the playing time.

“I believe varsity football is a junior- and senior-dominated sport,” Hackett said. “If you don’t have some of those guys, it’s going to be tough to win. If we can get some of those sophomores experience, hopefully they’ll pan out for us.”

Hackett said the Trojans will be particularly strong at their skill positions on offense, while still having work to do on the offensive line.

“Speed kills, and hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” Hackett said. “Hopefully these linemen gain some experience throughout the beginning weeks and once district play starts, we’re ready to roll.”

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