Trojans enjoying the grind of practice

With the first day of football practice Monday, things were looking just fine for Oak Ridge's varsity football team. On Tuesday, the team was feeling good, as they were enjoying day two of practice. "It's been good," junior receiver/cornerback Isaac Pierce said. "We've been grinding every day, getting into it. We've still got more work to do; it's the start of the season." Junior linebacker and tight end Justen Womack added, "It's been good. It's fun getting back with the boys." Senior defensive end Javon Joseph has been enjoying the grind at practice, as well as all the work put in during the offseason. "The summer is going great," Joseph said. "We've been working our tails off every day. We're trying to win a section championship like every other year. We keep working hard as a team because we're hoping for a good season." The Trojans, like every team, have a lot of work to do, as the first game of the season is only three weeks away. The Trojans open on the road way down in Bakersfield against Frontier on Aug. 22. This year the Trojans' offense will be led by a new quarterback with the graduation of Joaquin Graves-Mercado. Junior Nick Johnson, a transfer from Folsom, and sophomore Luke Taber, who quarterbacked the freshman team to a 9-1 record last season, are in a battle for the starting job. Most of the rest of the offense features returnees from last season: running backs Jasen Womack, Tyler Andujar and Austin Olive, receiver Pierce and linemen Andrew Werly, Troy Fleming, Brody Cadden, Brett Roberts and Max Gredvig. The Oak Ridge defense also has all kinds of experience this season, as nine of their top-14 tacklers return this season.