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.

From Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School

Karissa Niehoff, NFHS

Tom Keating, IHSAA

Associations and Tom Keating, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Inappropriate adult behaviors at high school athletic events across the country have reached epidemic proportion.

When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3 percent said it was, “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.”

And the men and women who referee or umpire those contests agree. In fact, almost 60% of new officials registered in Iowa in 2016-17 did not return to officiate in 2017-18, and unruly parents are often cited as a major reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in Iowa, and in baseball, football, track and field, and wrestling, the IHSAA is seeing record lows. No officials means no games.

If you are a parent attending a high school athletic event this fall, you can help by following these six guidelines:

1.Act your age. You are, after all, an adult. Act in a way that makes your family and school proud.

2. Don’t live vicariously through your children.High school sports are for them, not you. Your family’s reputation is not determined by how well your children perform on the field of play.

3. Let your children talk to the coach instead of doing it for them. High school athletes learn how to become more confident, independent and capable—but only when their parents don’t jump in and solve their problems for them.

4. Stay in your own lane.No coaching or officiating from the sidelines. Your role is to be a responsible, supportive parent, not a coach or official.

5. Remember:Participating in a high school sport is not about a college scholarship.According to the NCAA, only about 2% of all high school athletes are awarded a sports scholarship, and the average total value of that scholarship is only around$18,000.

6. Make sure your children know you love watching them play.Do not critique your child’s performance on the car ride home. Participating in high school sports is about character development, learning and having fun—not winning and losing.

Purchasing a ticket to a high school sporting event does not give you the right to be rude, disrespectful, or verbally abusive. Cheer loud and be proud, but please also be responsible and considerate as a spectator.

The future of high school sports in Iowa is dependent on you.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – – University of Iowa sophomore wide receiver Oliver Martin has been approved for immediate eligibility by the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference. Martin, a native of Coralville, Iowa and a graduate of Iowa City West High School, transferred to the Hawkeye football program this summer.

Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz said, “We are pleased that the NCAA and Big Ten Conference have approved Oliver’s waiver to play this season. Oliver is a tremendous young man who has been working hard since the day he set foot on our campus this summer. His teammates are excited to have him on the practice field and in the weight room, and we look forward to Oliver being able to contribute to our team.”

Martin had this comment after receiving word of the approval, “I am ecstatic that the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference have approved our waiver request. I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for their help as I work to get ready. I have been dreaming of running out of the tunnel wearing the black and gold ever since I decided to join the program. I can’t wait to contribute to this team on the field.”

Iowa opens the 2019 season Saturday, Aug. 31, hosting Miami, Ohio (6:40 p.m. CT, FS1). We’ll have coverage of the game on the Hawkeye Radio Network here on KJAN. Pregame will start at 4:30pm.