Jon Gremmels
For the Herald
August 27, 2008 11:46 am
—
CLINTON — They're rivals again, and the football players at East Central and Preston high schools can't wait for 7 p.m. on Friday night.
Not only do the two Jackson County schools, less than five miles apart, square off in Miles in their season opener, but a new era begins for both schools. After sharing a football program for the past couple of years, the schools are on their own again this fall. Just as exciting for the players on both sides, they're debuting eight-player football in eastern Iowa.
“It's a big adventure,” Preston's Derrick Trenkamp said. “We're really excited to get the season under way. The main thing is getting 'Preston Trojans' back on the map. I think that means a lot when you see people around town. It means a lot for the community.”
Teammate Luke Assenmacher said, “All the kids have a little extra pride, fans, too.”
The feeling is similar at East Central, where the high school in Miles is barely a five-minute drive from Preston on Highway 64.
“It's nice to have our own football program back,” said starting guard Curtis Koch, one of many East Central players who has returned to high school football this fall after a year or more away. “I like being East Central. There was too much Preston - we had to drive over there, the games were in Preston and it was their coaches.
“I have friends over there, and we'll still be friends, but we're going to leave it all on the field Friday.”
East Central coach Rick Meisner just hopes his players -- all wildly excited about a new beginning -- know what they're getting into.
“It's fortunate and unfortunate,” he said about East Central being the only school of the eight new, eight-man District 4 programs didn't have its own football program a year ago. “The kids have a false sense of reality right now. Unfortunately, I don't think some of them know what lies ahead.”
His words of caution come from the facts that there aren't a lot of players on the squad and most of them have little, if any, varsity experience. Meisner said East Central would have only 13 healthy, eligible players for the opener (starting fullback Clayton Struve suffered a broken foot in a scrimmage last Friday, and five more players are expected to become academically eligible midway through the season). Preston, on the other hand, will have about the same number of players in starting spots alone.
Meisner said junior nose tackle Ethan Milder (6-foot, 325 pounds) was the only Raider who had started in a varsity game, and that came when he was a freshman. Senior center/defensive end Devon Rose also has played at the varsity level. But, Meisner also is excited to see what the newcomers, such as junior quarterback/cornerback Nate Wall and sophomore tailback/defensive back Delvon Rodgers, can do.
Preston boasts several experienced players, especially at the skill positions. Senior Josh Feddersen is back at quarterback, and junior Kyle Feller has experience at the running back position. The list of six returning starters also includes seniors Trenkamp (tight end/defensive end), Jake Baughman (receiver/defensive back) and Derrick Driscoll (fullback-linebacker) and junior Austin Hughes (fullback/linebacker).
Meisner knows a little bit about some of the Trojans because he was on the Preston/East Central coaching staff two years ago.
“Feddersen is a good quarterback,” he said. “I expect Trenkamp will be their go-to guy in the passing game, and they also can go over the top to him because he's about 6-foot-6. Hughes is very solid, and Feller ran very hard last year.”
The eight-player aspect adds another element to the game between rivals who also meet in the regular-season finale in a district game in Preston.
“It's a learning experience for everybody,” Koch said. “None of us have ever played or coached or heard of it.”
The players apparently have taken to the game quickly.
“It's a lot faster-paced, higher scoring and a lot of touchdowns,” Assenmacher, a junior running back/linebacker, said.
The scores for the three of the four district teams that opened the season last Friday back up Assenmacher's statement. Central City opened with a 70-55 win, Springville scored 48 points in an opening win and Olin surrendered 60 as it dropped its first game.
The new game has been a learning experience, too.
“A lot of assignments are different,” Assenmacher said. “It seems like defense is a lot different.”
Preston coach Kevin Behr said: “The defensive transition was a little more difficult than the offense. You've got to concentrate on open-field tackling. We do work on a lot of open-field tackling.”
One defensive challenge, Trenkamp said, was seeing just three linemen across from him when he lines up at defensive end.
“It is tempting to just bull rush the quarterback every time,” he said. “You try to keep your assignments.”
No matter the differences the eight-player game brings, though, some things haven't changed.
“It's still fundamentally the same,” Behr said. “It still comes down to blocking and tackling. Especially as far as the players go, I don't see where they'll miss anything. It's still football; it's just played with less people.”
And it's still Preston at East Central.
“It's a big rivalry,” Trenkamp said. “We'd like to beat East Central. That would start the year great. It would be great motivation for the rest of the year.”
That goes for both teams, for both schools and for all the fans of both.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.