The Atlantic Trojan football team will open up their 2019 season on Friday night against Saydel. Not only will it be the final season before changes are made to the Trojan Bowl, it will also be the start of the 125th season of Trojan football. The team plans on commemorating the milestone throughout the season with tributes to players, coaches, and fans that have contributed to the Trojan football tradition.

The Trojans first took the field on November 20, 1894 in a game against Red Oak. That game was played in Griswold on a cool Saturday afternoon. The game was played in Griswold due to it’s central location between the two towns and each team arrived by train.  Riding the train to games was a tradition that would continue through the twenties for players and fans. Not much is known about that first contest other than the Trojans reportedly suffered a 42-0 loss.

Prior to the 1930’s, the local high school team in Atlantic was simply known as the “Black and Gold”. In 1932 the Trojans moniker was adopted with continued usage of black and gold colors, the only exception was the usage of green jerseys in the 1940’s. Atlantic’s early games were played at Sunnyside Field at the current Sunnyside Park. The field was one of Iowa’s first lighted football fields and the lights got moved to the Trojan Bowl upon it’s completion in 1932.  The name “Trojan Bowl” first appeared in the Atlantic News Telegraph, in an article by longtime writer Phil Chintz.

Throughout the history of the program Atlantic has captured 19 Hawkeye 6, Hawkeye 8, and District Championships. The Trojans participated in the Iowa Football Playoffs during the following years: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984, 2002, 2008, and 2011. The Trojans played in the 1974, 1980, and 2002 State Championship games, winning the title in 2002. Atlantic went undefeated in the 1903, 1946, 1947, and 2002 seasons. The Trojans had 24-straight wins from 1945-1948 and 28-straight wins or ties from 1962-1965.

The Atlantic football team would like to thank the community for their support and looks forward to another 125 years of football tradition.