Hillsboro football coach Len Coryea believes his 2006 team is poised to take that next big step in a rebuilding cycle that will carry the Trojans back into the promised land of a winning season.

After a 2-7 finish in his first year as head coach in 2004 and a 4-5 mark last season, Coryea believes the win-loss balance this season will swing in his team's favor.

"I can't see why we can't win seven right off the bat, personally," he said. "I think if they want to, we could do that."

Offense

Key to Coryea's optimism are improvements on offense, the side of the ball where the Trojans have struggled the past two years.

This season, Coryea sees his backfield as the strength of the team, and his offensive line as earning "most improved" recognition compared to a year ago.

Four physically strong running backs will rotate into the backfield this season: seniors Michael Suderman (5-feet-11, 200 pounds), Adam Dirks (6-5, 195) and Lucas Hamm (6-4, 215) and junior Jacob Yoder (5-10, 175).

"We've got four (backs) that I don't care who's in the game, personally," Coryea said. "That's going to be up to (running back) Coach (Scott) O'Hare. I feel very comfortable with all four."

With a week to go before Friday's opener against Nickerson, Suderman and Dirks had a slight edge as starters.

Last season Suderman picked up 474 yards on 120 carries for a 4.0 average. Dirks, meanwhile, wasn't in the mix at all as a junior, but has muscled up over the off-season and been impressive in practice.

Hamm, with his head-on, bruising running style, had the team's best average last season at 5.4 yards, but carried the ball only 26 times. Most of Yoder's experience came with the junior varsity.

When they're not running the football, Hamm or Dirks will be playing tight end, Coryea said. Senior Tyler Suderman (6-1, 170) will be battling for playing time at that position, too.

Needing to fill the void created by the graduation of a quarterback who took almost every snap behind center last season, the Trojan's season outlook only brightened this fall with the arrival of Spencer Brown (5-10, 175) from Minneapolis High School.

Within the past week, Brown, who started at quarterback last season at Minneapolis, earned the starting role with Hillsboro after a spirited preseason competition with sophomore Daniel Jost (6-1, 160).

"Spencer's going to be a very good runner," Coryea said of the junior. "His passing, when he learns how we like to have the ball thrown-I think he'll be good.

"Daniel Jost is a very good backup," he added. "Daniel will play football somewhere. He can catch, he can run, he has great athletic ability."

Assistant coach Darrel Knoll has been working with the quarterbacks to overcome their varsity inexperience at HHS.

When those quarterbacks look to throw to a wide receiver, Troy Frick (6-4, 180) will be a primary target. The senior showed flashes of brilliance a year ago on his way to a unanimous all-league season, catching a team-high 40 throws for 575 yards and three touchdowns.

"Troy can catch balls," Coryea said. "He's certainly a nice threat to have out there."

Also vying for playing time at wide receiver are seniors Brett McIntosh (6-2, 165) and Aaron Stepanek (5-10, 150).

"Brett has been looking real well, but lacks the speed factor Troy has," Coryea said. "Aaron Stepanek has been showing real well. I have been highly impressed with how Aaron has been playing for us out there."

Charged with opening holes and protecting their backfield mates is an offensive line Coryea describes as "bigger, stronger, faster" than a year ago, but also "scary" thin in numbers.

"We have no depth in the offensive line," Coryea said. "One injury and things will get interesting."

But the Trojan coach likes what he has seen in his projected starters: senior Alex Nuss (6-5, 230) at center, senior Tyler Kaufman (6-1, 200) and junior Michael Scheele (6-0, 185) at guard, and seniors Darren Enns (6-4, 225) and Josh Kenney (6-5, 215) at tackle.

Sophomore John Hein (6-2, 195), who has been working out primarily at center, is the only substitute who has the size and strength to step in if needed and play at a competitive level.

Coryea said the strength of his improved line is at the tackle spots.

"I think (Enns and Kenney) should be as good as any two tackles in our conference-either one," Coryea said. "Darren's a thinker and Kenney's a wheeler-dealer, mix-it-up kind of kid."

The offensive line proved its moxie last Friday, Coryea said, when he put them through a drill of running 25 plays in 20 minutes against live competition in hot and muggy conditions.

"There was no complaining, no walking off the field-they showed me a lot," he said. "If they get to playing as a unit-and it's getting that way more and more-we're going to be OK there.

"I think this year's line comes in as physically strong as we've been in a long time," Coryea said. "They all bench over 200 for the first time in years.

"The strength (of the offense), though, is probably the backfield this year just because you've got the strength factor. The four strongest kids on the team are in the backfield."

Defense and kicking

With his specialty as an offensive line coach in practice, Coryea said he has more or less turned over the development of his team's defense to assistant coach Dennis Boldt.

Fans will see a lot of Trojans playing both sides of the ball again this fall.

The first line of Hillsboro's defense will feature Enns at one tackle and Scheele or Nuss at the other. The front runners for a starting spot at end are Kaufman and Kenney, with Tyler Suderman battling for playing time after practicing well in the preseason.

Anchoring the defense will be a corps of linebackers-Michael Suderman, Hamm and Dirks-that Coryea calls "one of the more talented we've had for a long time at Hillsboro."

"It's going to be hard for anyone to knock them out (of the lineup)," he added.

Dirks led the team in tackles in 2005 with 33 solo stops and 49 assists, while Hamm was second with 28 solos and 38 assists. Hamm also tied for the team-high in interceptions with three.

Patrolling the defensive backfield at corner back or safety are projected starters Jost, Yoder, Brown and Stepanek.

Putting the foot into football, Hamm will be handling kickoff and probably extra-point duties, Coryea said, while Yoder has been the most consistent performer at punter. Nuss or Kenney will be doing the long-snapping for punts and extra points.

Season outlook

Competing in the "big school" Central Division of the Mid Central Activities Association, the Trojans will again be tested by a tough schedule within the league.

Coryea sees Smoky Valley, Hesston and Wichita Collegiate as sporting "very good teams" again this season. But with the loss of several key players to graduation and transfer, Collegiate may not be the runaway leader this season that it was a year ago.

The Trojans' other two Central Division foes won't be easy either. The Panthers from Nickerson, who have always fielded big linemen and played tough against Hillsboro, have a new coach, while Haven has an NCAA Division I prospect in senior quarterback Isiah Barfield.

In district play, Hillsboro swaps defending Class 3A champion Southeast of Saline for Remington, a team that went deep into the Class 2A playoffs last season.

Traditional nemeses Marion and Hesston round out a strong four-team district.

Along with Remington, Mid Division schools Sterling and Ellinwood are new to the schedule in 2006 and will round out the Trojans' nine-game regular season.

Hillsboro opens Friday against Nickerson in the first of back-to-back home games. Kickoff will be 7 p.m. at Reimer Field.