After a disappointing season a year ago, the Tri-Center Trojans Football Team has advanced to the second round of the playoffs and will host the Riverside Bulldogs this Friday night. Last season the Trojans finished the regular season with a 3-5 record and snuck into the postseason. However, they were eliminated in the first the first round by Akron-Westfield. However, after dropping the first game of the season to AHSTW, Tri-Center has not lost since. Last week they defeated South Central Calhoun 41-0. Head Coach Ryan Schroder says they didn’t change much.

Offensively the Trojans have been excellent this year scoring 35 or more points in six of their games this year. This in part due to the performance of sophomore quarterback AJ Harder. Harder has been phenomenal through the air throwing for 2120 yards and 23 touchdowns. Schroder credits his athleticism and vision for his success.

Another lethal weapon that the Trojans can bring to bear is their run game. Senior Carter Kunze has been just as effective on the ground rushing for 1629 yards and 25 touchdowns. His success is not surprise to Schroder and give a lot of balance to the Trojans attack.

Tri-Center also has a formidable defense. Since week two the Trojans have not allowed more than 16 points. The defense has 5 players with over 30 tackles led by senior Brenton Kramer who has 48.5.  However, they will be challenged this week by Riverside running back Jaxon Gordon. Gordan has run for over 1800 yards and has score 30 touchdowns this season. Schroder knows how talented Gordon is but has full confidence in what his team had done to this point.

Schroder also knows that having a talented back in Kunze has helped his defense prepare for the upcoming challenge.

Ultimately a balanced offensive attack and a physical defense have made Tri-Center a very tough team to beat this season. So don’t expect to see anything different from the Trojans.

Kickoff at Tri-Center is scheduled for 7 pm.