PHOTO PROVIDED - The West Marshall football team carries a seven-year playoff streak into the new season after graduating a bulk of last year’s offensive production. The Trojans’ seven returning letterwinners pictured (from left) are front row: Connor Kemmerer, Brady Larson, Kinnick Geers and Blayk Hart; back row: Beckham DeSotel, Luke Steward and Connor Schuler.

STATE CENTER — The West Marshall football program picked up its seventh-straight playoff appearance last fall, but a first-round exit and a large graduating class has the Trojans searching for answers.

Until they find the solution, the Trojans will put the ball in the hands of their all-stater and follow the sled-movers up front.

West Marshall returns three starters on its offensive line and a do-everything skill player in senior Kinnick Geers for a 2025 campaign that comes with a lot of questions.

The Trojans graduated 81.5 percent of the offense’s yards from scrimmage last season, but there’s plenty of hope because of the bulk that’s back in black and gold.

“Our lines are probably our strengths,” said West Marshall head coach Cody Hackett. “We’ve got three guys on the line coming back and Kinnick Geers was an all-state player for us last year, so those are our leaders for this season.”

Geers got all-state honors at defensive back last season after leading Class 2A with eight interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound playmaker racked up 1,151 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns by four different methods.

“We’ve got to be able to figure out ways to get him the ball, and the good thing is with our experience up front that I feel comfortable handing him the ball in the backfield,” Hackett said. “He’s a kid that comes along very few and far between. He’s always flying around making plays. He’s not one of those vocal guys, but every coach wants a guy like him.”

Geers will tuck in behind a lot of beef up front, headlined by senior Luke Steward. The 6-5, 315-pound lineman is a returning all-district selection who has been getting looks from Division I schools.

Connor Schuler (6-3, 280) and Brady Larson (5-10, 255) also return to the front line for the offense. Connor Kemmerer and Beckham DeSotel are expected to slot in with the O-line as well.

“We’re going to rely on them heavily,” Hackett said about Steward and Schuler. “The thing is teams are going to know that, and we’ve still just got to be able to execute and do things the right way.

“The offensive line is our strength, and they know a lot of it’s on their backs for us to be successful.”

Junior Blayk Hart has gotten the nod at quarterback, replacing graduated senior Vincent Clawson. Sophomore Teegun Edler will serve as the backup at quarterback, but he’ll still be on the field as one of the team’s wide receiver targets.

Drake Whitaker, Ryder Gile and Jon Gonzalez will also be weapons for the offense.

Defensively, West Marshall ranked 14th out of 48 teams in 2A last year by allowing just 18.6 points per game, but the Trojans graduated nine of its top 10 tacklers.

Geers made 38 stops while Steward had 19.5 tackles, and DeSotel added 15 tackles to go with 2.5 quarterback sacks and four tackles for loss.

While it’ll be a lot of new starters for the defense, Hackett says that having returners up front will give the rest of the unit a chance to play catch-up without always learning the hard way.

“We’re going to be kind of young in the linebacker spot, but that’s our job to coach them up to play fast because it’s a whole different ballgame at the varsity level,” Hackett said. “We’re going to rely on some younger guys.”

Connor Yakel, a junior, and Dalton Eldridge, a sophomore, should slot in at linebacker this season, while Edler, Gonzalez, Gile and Whitaker will take up the defensive secondary. Seniors Ethan Guilbeaux and Wyatt Brown could find their way onto the field for defense, too, Hackett said.

“Overall I do think our defense will fly around and make plays,” Hackett said. “I just thing that we’ve always had that kind of identity. The big key for us is just making sure our offense is progressing in the right direction, but it just seems like our guys are always ready to play defense.”

The Trojans move down to 1A District 7 this fall, so a roster of 53 should stand out on West Marshall’s sideline.

The season schedule starts with 2A playoff qualifier South Hardin on Friday, Aug. 29, in Eldora, with non-district home games against New Hampton and Roland-Story on deck.

West Marshall will meet its new district starting in Week 4 with a road trip to Ogden.

The Trojans are one of two teams in the district coming down from 2A (Interstate 35), while Panorama moves up from Class A after going 1-7 last fall. Pleasantville (6-3) is the only returning 1A playoff qualifier in the district.

“If you base it off preseason rankings, four of our eight games are against ranked opponents,” Hackett said. “So we’ve got our hands full with our schedule, but that non-district schedule just really gives us an idea where we’re at before we get to district play and hopefully we stay healthy by that point to continue.

“I think we have every opportunity as any other team in our district. I like our schedule. Now it’s just up to our staff to put our guys in a position to be successful, and once district play starts that’s where we’ve really got to be at our sharpest.”