The Atlantic Trojan football team is ready to get on the field Friday night and hit someone other than teammates. The Trojans open up their second season under Head Coach Mike McDermott on the road at Clarinda Friday night and we’ll have coverage of the game on KJAN. Coach McDermott said he liked some of the things the Trojans did in their scrimmage a week ago but he thinks the guys are ready for a little more excitement this week with an actual opponent.

Atlantic is coming off a 1-8 season a year ago and Coach McDermott feels like the team has made big strides in all three facets of the game in the preparation for this year.

The Trojans have a strong core of returning players and should have a lot of speed to work with in the backfield.  Coach McDermott said they know they need to do more to get the ball in the hands of those speedy players on offense but he also feels speed will be a strength in the defensive secondary.

The opponent for Atlantic in week one is also coming off a 1-8 season. Clarinda has less experience returning from a year ago and they will also have a new Head Coach. Long time Assistant Coach Roger Williams stepped into the Head Coaches chair this summer after the departure of Mark Schilb.  Trojan Head Coach Mike McDermott expects a tough team to line up for Coach Williams.

The Cardinals are hoping to re-establish a tough-physical mentality according to Coach Williams and he said there is a lot of fighting for positions going on early in the year.

Coach Williams said his team will change a few things here and there with the coaching transition but a lot has stayed the same. He felt like the Cardinals didn’t do a good enough job up front against Atlantic last year and is working to improve that this time around.

The Trojans and Cardinals are set to kickoff in Clarinda at 7:00pm Friday night. Tune in to KJAN as Chris Parks and Mike Smith bring you all the action on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the free KJAN mobile app. You can also watch live streaming video of the game on KJANTV. You can hear a full interview with Coach McDermott on Trojan Preview at 4:45pm, then listen in to our pick ’em show Who’s Gonna Win? at 6:00pm, followed by the Dvorak Tire and Service Pregame Show at 6:30pm, and then kickoff at 7:00pm.