Scribner-Snyder looks for more success in 2015

Team: Scribner-Snyder

Mascot: Trojans

Colors: Red and White

Class: D-1

Head Coach: Anthony Ruzicka (5th season) (15-19 career record)

2014 record: 6-3 (lost to Bloomfield in First Round of Playoffs)

Returning Starters: 3 offense 3 defense

Overview:

The Scribner-Snyder Trojans hope to build off the success they had in 2014, when they competed with some of the state's best before suffering what could be considered a disappointing first round playoff loss to Bloomfield.

The good news is the returning players gained some valuable experience last year that will help them going forward, but the bad news is there are some big shoes to fill across the board.

Scribner-Snyder graduated three four year starters in QB/DE Bruce Schulenberg, RB/LB Bailey Fletcher, and TE/LB Austin Weitzenkamp. The Trojans also lost a pair of three year starters in RB/DB Brandon French, and OL/DL Ryan Schnoor. Scribner-Snyder suffered a huge blow when David Dunklau (SR TE/DE) went down with an ACL Injury.

The Trojans return Kaleb Fischer C/DL: 5’11” 235lbs, 12th grade, Michael Broussard B/DB: 5’10” 165lbs, 12th grade, and Riley Meyer OL/DL: 5’10” 250lbs, 11th grade.

Their ability to lead and step up will be critical to this team's success. There's going to be a lot of inexperienced players on the field for Scribner-Snyder this season, so making sure everyone is in the right position to make plays is going to be important for this team.

There are a number of players who could step in and be factors this season. They include Harrison Riggle – 10th, OL/DL, 6’4” 295LBS, Teague Stewart – 9th, RB/LB, 5’8” 140LBS, Victor Zamora – 10th, OL/DL, 5’9”, 250LBS, and Marcus Love – 11th, TE/DL, 6’2”, 180LBS.

The Trojans may not have as many big guns as they had last season, but I still look for Scribner-Snyder to be good this season.

Hard work and team work will be critical to the success of the Trojans this year. Scribner-Snyder has to outwork their competition, and want it more than their opponents.

Things may not be the prettiest for the Trojans at the beginning of the season, but I look for the newcomers to settle in nicely, and mesh well with the returning players.

It may take a game or two for Scribner-Snyder to figure things out, but the Trojans should still be a factor in District D1-2 once again.


Season Outlook:

Scribner-Snyder hopes to simply reload instead of rebuild after finding much success in 2014.

Head Coach Anthony Ruzicka says there have been many positives so far. "The strength of this team is going to be the overall desire to be competitive. Overall, we had a great turnout for summer workouts and camps. Through the first week of practice, we have had a great attitude and have really worked hard towards being a complete football team."

It certainly appears the returning players and newcomers have what it takes to win this season. Ruzicka says players need to continue go gain experience. "We need to get a lot of new bodies reps at positions they may not have played before. We graduated a lot of experience from last season’s seniors, so it is important to get a lot of reps with this new group in practice. They have worked on a lot of the stuff in JV games together, but getting those reps up to the speed of a varsity game will be very important to us."

As I was talking about in the overview, the Trojans should be good to go after some early season hiccups. Ruzicka says it's going to take some time to get everyone on the same page. "We feel that we should be able to win 6 games through the regular season. Overall, we will be very competitive, and a tough out. We will make some mistakes, especially early on in the season. That is to be expected with the amount of new faces we will have on the field this season. Once we get the kinks ironed out, and get up to game speed, I feel that we should be a pretty good team."

Scribner-Snyder has a favorable schedule with a couple of tough games in the middle part of the season. The Trojans battle Guardian Angels Central Catholic and East Butler on the road in back-to-back weeks.

Scribner-Snyder gave both of those teams a run for their money last season, and I look for the Trojans to compete hard against both again this season. Scribner-Snyder may be able to win one of those games, but winning both will be extremely difficult.

Ruzicka feels his squad will be in the thick of things when it comes to the District. "Our district is GACC, Pender, Winnebago, Omaha Nation, and ourselves. GACC is expected to be very good, and probably one of the top 2 teams in the state this season. We played a really close game with them last season, and I think we will be competitive with the again next season. We saw Pender at camp this summer, and they are a much improved team. They have an excellent group of backs in the backfield, and are really solid in the interior defensive line. They are going to be a team to keep an eye on. I don’t know much about Winnebago or Omaha Nation at this point. I think that we should be competitive within our district."

I think Scribner-Snyder will do no worse than a second place finish in District D1-2. The Trojans are capable of winning the district, but Guardian Angels Central Catholic is an awfully tough team. The district could be decided when Scribner-Snyder and GACC meet.

The Trojans have to be hungry after how their season ended last year. I'm sure Scribner-Snyder feels they could have done better in their playoff game, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The good thing is the Trojans were in every game they played in last season. I look for that to be a possibility again this year.

Look for Scribner-Snyder to live up to expectations, and have a good season this year. I feel the Trojans really have something special brewing.

Projected Starters:
 

Offensive Starters: C – Kaleb Fischer, 12^th , 5’11”, 235lbs

G – Riley Meyer, 11^th, 5’11”, 250lbs

G – Sonny Lodl, 12^th, 6’2”, 195lbs

TE – Chauncey Homes, 12^th, 5’11”, 185lbs

TE – Austin Lampkin, 12^th, 6’1”, 205lbs

B – Michael Broussard, 12^th, 5’9”, 165lbs

B – Darnell Sims, 12^th, 6’2”, 175lbs

B – Alex Nuno, 11^th, 5’9”, 165lbs (still in competition for spot)

B – Gunner Palmer, 11^th, 6’0”, 200lbs (still in competition for spot)

Defensive Starters: NT – Riley Meyer, 11^th, 5’11”, 250lbs

DE – Kaleb Fischer, 12^th, 5’11”, 235lbs

DE – Austin Lampkin, 12^th, 6’1”, 205lbs

LB – Darnell Sims, 12^th, 6’2”, 175lbs

LB – Chauncey Homes, 12^th, 5’11”, 185lbs

LB – Alex Nuno, 11^th, 5’9”, 165lbs

DB – Gunner Palmer, 11^th, 6’0”, 200lbs

DB – Michael Broussard, 12^th, 5’9”, 165lbs

2015 Scribner-Snyder Trojans Football Schedule:

08/28/15	Omaha Christian Academy	D1
09/04/15	@ Mead	D1
09/11/15	Cedar Bluffs	D1
09/25/15	Omaha Nation	D1
10/02/15	@ Guardian Angels Central Catholic	D1
10/09/15	@ East Butler	D1
10/16/15	Pender	D1
10/23/15	@ Winnebago	D1