T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - The South Tama football team brings back 14 letterwinners in hopes of snapping a 25-game losing streak. Pictured (from left) are front row: Manuel Cervantes, Michael Henry, Ayden Vest, Garrett Surman, Tanner Large and Eric Medina; back row: Natayvious Sanders, Josh Strong, Kyle Youngbear, Drew Mellies, Anthony Viramontes, Wes Hanus. Nick Upah and Marcus Bear.

TAMA — The South Tama County football team takes a varsity roster of 25 players into the 2025 season in which it hopes to snap its 25-game losing streak.

Have the stars aligned for the Trojans?

Head coach Nate Doran welcomes back 14 returning letterwinners from last year’s winless squad, providing a lot of positivity in camp ahead of Friday’s season-opening game against Vinton-Shellsburg.

“Honestly, this is probably the first time in six, seven years that we return this many guys that all have varsity experience,” Doran said. “Most of them probably played both ways, so that’s huge. Most years we’ve been rebuilding and we’ll have a different team, a different quarterback, this, that — but right now we’re fitting the pieces we are missing and the guys that are here know what the drill is and they’re going right to work.”

The Trojans will still be young and inexperienced with some skill position players, but those underclassmen were a part of a junior high program that posted some highly successful seasons.

STC will turn to sophomore quarterback Ryan Brant to run the offense. Brant saw a few varsity snaps a year ago but is the lead-by-example guy Doran wants calling the shots in the huddle.

“He’s big, he’s strong, he’s smart, he pays attention and he asks the right questions,” Doran said. “Coach (Dustin) Peska coached that group in middle school, so they have a pretty good relationship together. He’s one of those kids that’s going to do the extra. He’s not a real loud, vocal guy, but he’s going to lead by example because he’s doing the right things.”

Juniors Eric Medina and Michael Henry both handled the ball out of the backfield last season, while seniors Nick Upah, Marcus Bear, Tanner Large and Garrett Surman made catches for the passing game.

The Trojans totaled just 525 yards passing a season ago and 1,658 yards of total offense, but Doran’s belief is that solid line play could pave the way for more this year.

“I would definitely say that we’re blessed this year,” Doran said about his offensive line. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a true O-line. They’re hogs and they believe in it and they love it. Nobody’s there because they have to be.

“This year we’ve got people that want to be linemen and they look the part. They know they’re the ones that make the engine go, and they take that to heart.”

Seniors Drew Mellies, Ayden Vest and Josh Strong will align up front along with juniors Anthony Viramontes, Kyle Youngbear, Owen Vanderpool and Manuel Cervantes. Sophomore Lakyr Peska (6-foot-2, 265) stands out among the rest, while fellow sophomore Samuel Garcia should contribute as well.

“In the past we’ve been turning tight ends into tackles, and they’ve been guys who are athletic but not necessarily big enough and not really true linemen,” Doran said. “We were making due, and those guys worked their tails off, but we don’t have to do that this year.

“We’re really looking forward to what this O-line can do.”

The Trojans also return six of their seven leading tackles from a season ago, starting at linebacker with Youngbear.

“He will be our horse there, he’ll lead the defense,” Doran said. “Kyle will be the heart of that, he’s the glue and he’s the one that’s going to give you everything he’s got.”

The Trojans will need contributions from all 25 guys on the varsity roster to get through the nine-game schedule, which opens with three non-district games against lukewarm competition.

STC starts with a home game against Vinton-Shellsburg, which has lost 21 straight games. The Trojans travel to face Union Community in Week 2, and a lengthy road trip to Louisa-Muscatine arrives in Week 3. The Falcons enter this season with a 35-game losing skid in tow.

None of those numbers mean anything to Doran, however.

“Our goal was to set a positive attitude and a team-first mindset, and I 100 percent believe that’s where we are right now,” he said. “Honestly, with our schedule, I don’t know most of the teams. Vinton is somebody we play in the WaMaC, and Union we’ve scrimmaged for years.

“But we can’t overlook anybody. We can never do that.”

South Tama has dropped down from Class 3A to 2A, where it will align in District 7. PCM (11-1) reached the state semifinals last fall, but the Mustangs are the only returning playoff team in the district. Pella Christian (3-6) moves up from 1A, while Albia (4-5), Centerville (4-5) and Davis County (3-5) all finished below .500.

But South Tama, which hasn’t won since Sept. 2, 2022, can’t be concerned with those numbers.

“I think we’ve got kids that know how to be competitive,” Doran said. “They want to fight for everything. These guys are trying to build each other up, and that’s a completely different vibe than tearing each other down or something like that. These guys are a team first, they want to make each other better, and that’s something special these guys have.”