High school football: Morgan Trojans 2009 preview

MORGAN — It's amazing what a run to the state semifinals will do for a football program.

It's not as if the Morgan Trojans were down in the first place, but more and more kids are buying into what Kovi Christiansen is doing in his third year.

Freshmen through seniors, Morgan has 110 kids out for football this year as opposed to 85 last year. Nine of those newcomers haven't played football since they were freshmen, something Christiansen acknowledges is out of the ordinary but isn't a coincidence.

"We had fun last year. The kids and coaches got along really well. It didn't get to be long or tedious," he said. "They were still excited about practice and excited about playing and putting on the gear every day, and the coaches were excited to be there, so word of that gets around. Making the semis helped."

That impressive run into the semifinals ended with four Morgan turnovers and a 26-9 loss to juggernaut Hurricane. Those costly turnovers have been a motivating factor for the Trojans all summer in the weight room.

"They saw what it did for some of the kids last year who were in there consistently, so this year our numbers in the weight have been on average 20 more than we've had in the past. Hopefully, that work ethic will pay off," said Christiansen.

With a tough nonregion slate and an even tougher region slate, Morgan will need to be sharp from the get go, which isn't unrealistic with six starters back on offense and three on defense.

Even though Christiansen believes his team will be good again, there's still some concern in his mind.

"Probably the biggest thing that is yet to be determined is leadership and some mental toughness," said Christiansen. "We had a real good group as far as kids who led by example last year. I'm hoping this group of seniors will do some of that."

That leadership may come from the offensive line, where Chase Davis, Josh Mines and Taylor Drennan are all returning starters. If the trio stays healthy and gels with the two newcomers, Morgan could be a pretty good offensive football team this year.

It helps that Matt Largent is back for his third season as the Trojans' starting quarterback.

The question mark on offense is at running back following the graduation of several all-state caliber backs. Tad Sargent and Jordan Wamsley are the most likely to fill the void, but several others could emerge as contributors as the season wears on. Regardless of who it is, their success depends on experienced blockers in front of them.